John William Tristram was born on 7 October 1870 at Gillingham, Kent, England. He was the oldest of eight children born to Samuel Herbert Tristram and his wife Hannah (nee Thompson). He arrived in Sydney with his family on 21 December 1883.
As an artist, he was completely self-taught and took up serious drawing and painting soon after arrival in Australia. His artistic talent helped to secure his first job and by April 1885 was employed in the Civil Service of New South Wales as a Junior Draftsman in the Architect’s Branch of the Department of Public Instruction (which became Department of Education in 1915). He pursued this career until his retirement around 1930.
By the early 1890s Tristram was living in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. On 14 October 1891 he married Maud Face in Woollahra and for the next few years he lived and painted there and in Double Bay.
In 1899 he and his family moved north of Sydney Harbour to the leafy suburb of Mosman which, from it’s earliest days, had strong connections with the creative arts in Sydney. For the next decade he lived in a house bearing the name 'Lionesse’ in Rangers Avenue. Today this house still bears the pair of stone lions which guard the stairs leading to the front door. It is likely that 'Lionesse’ was a play on words named in recognition of the epic poem 'Tristram of Lyonesse’ written by the British poet Algernon Charles Swinburne and first published in 1882. This work recounted the famed medieval tale of Tristram and Isuelt (Tristan and Isolde). Another poem by Swinburne, 'Sestina’, was the inspiration for Tristram’s painting 'A world’s not wholly known of day or night’.
Tristram painted in watercolour and his style was soft and delicate. His approach to art was primarily aesthetic, with the objective of balancing elegance and harmony in the colours of a painting. Much of his work employed soft, muted colour and was suggestive rather than realistic. His coastal scenes and rural landscapes were generally soft-edged and appeared as if viewed through coloured, misty veils. There was a sometimes mysterious, sometimes melancholic character to his paintings.
His works can be found in the collections of many Australian public galleries including: National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of South Australia and Queensland Art Gallery.
Aside from his painting, Tristram was known as a contributor of poetry to publications such as The Bulletin and The Lone Hand as well as being a gifted musician.
J. W. Tristram died in St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney on 19 August 1938 from liver disease. He was survived by his wife, Maude; sons, Ashwin & John (Jack); and daughters, Norah (Biddy) & Molly.
- Writers:
- Staff Writer
- Date written:
- 1999
- Last updated:
- 2013
