George Edmund Butler
Encyclopedia
George Edmund Butler was a landscape and portrait painter specializing in oils and watercolours.
at the Wellington School of Design.
Wellington Art Club, founded by Nairn, and soon established a local reputation for his paintings of seascapes. In 1897, Butler went to Sydney
with the Wellington art dealer McGregor Wright to study pictures in the National Art Gallery of New South Wales
. Between 1898 and 1900, Butler undertook art studies abroad. While on studies abraod, Butler married his first wife, Sarah Jane Popplestone, on 29 April 1899 at Lyndhurst, Hampshire
. Butler studied at the Lambeth School of Art
, and the Académie Julian
in Paris, where he gained honours. He later studied at the Antwerp Academy, winning a gold medal and laurel wreath in 1900.
. Butler was elected to the Royal West of England Academy
in 1912 after establishing a reputation as a portrait and landscape artist in oils and watercolours. Butler also exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, the Royal Scottish Academy
, the Royal Academy
and the annual salon exhibition at the Société des Artistes Français
in Paris.
in France later that same month. He carried a sketchbook in which he made pencil drawings of actual operations and war scenes, often under fire. These sketches were later used as the basis for his paintings. After the Armistice, he returned to sketch all the New Zealand battlefield sites in Belgium and France. After being demobilized on 31 December 1918, Butler was privately commissioned by Robert Heaton Rhodes
and Major General Sir Andrew Hamilton Russell
to do a further series of senior officer portraits and a number of large landscapes of New Zealand battlefield site along the Western Front
. It was Rhodes's intention to persuade the New Zealand government to purchase these works. The New Zealand cabinet finally agreed to the idea in September 1921 and approved payment, including the purchase of a further two large works and 26 smaller paintings recommended by the New Zealand High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Sir James Allen
.
, Suffolk, on 15 March 1928, he married Monica Susan Boyce in London on 29 April 1929. He died at Twickenham
on 9 August 1936, survived by his second wife and two children, Bernice and Brian, of his first marriage.
Early life
Born 15 January 1872 in Southampton, England, George Edmund Butler emigrated to Wellington, New Zealand with his parents, Joseph Cawte Butler and Jane Tiller, in 1883. After completing his education at Te Aro School, Butler worked for his father and studied art part-time under James NairnJames Nairn
James MacLauchlan Nairn was a Glasgow-born painter who strongly influenced New Zealand painting in the late 19th century. He believed in en plein air or painting outdoors....
at the Wellington School of Design.
Art education
Butler enrolled at the Wellington School of Design in 1890. In 1892 he joined the avant-gardeAvant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
Wellington Art Club, founded by Nairn, and soon established a local reputation for his paintings of seascapes. In 1897, Butler went to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
with the Wellington art dealer McGregor Wright to study pictures in the National Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
. Between 1898 and 1900, Butler undertook art studies abroad. While on studies abraod, Butler married his first wife, Sarah Jane Popplestone, on 29 April 1899 at Lyndhurst, Hampshire
Lyndhurst, Hampshire
Lyndhurst is a village and civil parish in the New Forest, Hampshire, England. It is a popular tourist location with many independent shops, art galleries, cafés, restaurants, pubs and hotels. The nearest city is Southampton located around nine miles to the north-east...
. Butler studied at the Lambeth School of Art
Lambeth School of Art
Lambeth School of Art was founded in 1854 by William Gregory as a night school associated with the St. Mary the Less Church in London.-History:...
, and the Académie Julian
Académie Julian
The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...
in Paris, where he gained honours. He later studied at the Antwerp Academy, winning a gold medal and laurel wreath in 1900.
Art career
Butler returned to Wellington in 1900 and exhibited in Wellington and Christchurch art society exhibitions that year. In 1901 he settled in Dunedin and exhibited there until 1905. Butler's paintings won praise at the Otago Art Society exhibitions, but life as a professional artist without private means gave little financial reward. He supported himself by giving tuition in drawing, and was commissioned to complete a number of portraits of city dignitaries. In 1905 he returned to England and settled in Bristol, teaching art at Clifton CollegeClifton College
Clifton College is a co-educational independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1862. In its early years it was notable for emphasising science in the curriculum, and for being less concerned with social elitism, e.g. by admitting day-boys on equal terms and providing a dedicated...
. Butler was elected to the Royal West of England Academy
Royal West of England Academy
The Royal West of England Academy is an art gallery where Queens Road meets Whiteladies Road, in Bristol, England.- History :The Academy was the first art gallery in Bristol. Its foundation was financed by a bequest of £2000 in the will of Ellen Sharples in 1849, and a group of artists in...
in 1912 after establishing a reputation as a portrait and landscape artist in oils and watercolours. Butler also exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, the Royal Scottish Academy
Royal Scottish Academy
The Royal Scottish Academy is a Scottish organisation that promotes contemporary Scottish art. Founded in 1826, as the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts, the RSA maintains a unique position in Scotland as an independently funded institution led by eminent artists and...
, the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
and the annual salon exhibition at the Société des Artistes Français
Société des artistes français
The Société des Artistes Français is the association of French painters and sculptors established in 1881. Its annual exhibition is called the Salon....
in Paris.
War artist
The New Zealand Expeditionary Force War Museum Committee approached Butler to be an official New Zealand war artist because of his reputation as an artist and his New Zealand connections. He was appointed with the honorary rank of captain in September 1918 and joined the New Zealand DivisionNew Zealand Division
The New Zealand Division was a World War I infantry division formed in Egypt in January 1916 following the evacuation of Gallipoli. At the outbreak of war the New Zealand Expeditionary Force contained a single infantry brigade which was combined with the unattached Australian 4th Infantry Brigade...
in France later that same month. He carried a sketchbook in which he made pencil drawings of actual operations and war scenes, often under fire. These sketches were later used as the basis for his paintings. After the Armistice, he returned to sketch all the New Zealand battlefield sites in Belgium and France. After being demobilized on 31 December 1918, Butler was privately commissioned by Robert Heaton Rhodes
Robert Heaton Rhodes
Robert Heaton Rhodes was a New Zealand politician, who represented the Akaroa electorate from 1871 to 1874, when he resigned. He was elected unopposed in 1871....
and Major General Sir Andrew Hamilton Russell
Andrew Hamilton Russell
Major General Sir Andrew Hamilton Russell KCB, KCMG was a World War I general from New Zealand, who rose swiftly to high command during the Gallipoli campaign in 1915–1916 and to prominence as the inspirational commander of the New Zealand Division on the Western Front in 1917 and 1918.-Early life...
to do a further series of senior officer portraits and a number of large landscapes of New Zealand battlefield site along the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
. It was Rhodes's intention to persuade the New Zealand government to purchase these works. The New Zealand cabinet finally agreed to the idea in September 1921 and approved payment, including the purchase of a further two large works and 26 smaller paintings recommended by the New Zealand High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Sir James Allen
James Allen (New Zealand)
Sir James Allen, GCMG, KCB was a prominent New Zealand politician and diplomat. He held a number of the most important political offices in the country, including Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was also New Zealand's Minister of Defence during World War I.-Early life:Allen...
.
Second marriage and death
Butler never returned to New Zealand. Following Sarah Butler's death at TrimleyTrimley
Trimley may refer to:*Trimley St Mary, Suffolk*Trimley St Martin, Suffolk...
, Suffolk, on 15 March 1928, he married Monica Susan Boyce in London on 29 April 1929. He died at Twickenham
Twickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
on 9 August 1936, survived by his second wife and two children, Bernice and Brian, of his first marriage.