William Macleod
Encyclopedia
William Macleod was an Australia
n artist and a partner in The Bulletin
.
. His father was of a Scottish Highlands
family and his mother Cornish
/German
. The family emigrated to Australia in 1854 or 1855, drawn by the potential for riches from the Victorian goldrush
, but Macleod's father died a year later.
His mother moved to Sydney
and was remarried to James Anderson, a portrait painter. Anderson's heavy drinking and the family's parlius financial state forced Macleod to find work at the age of 12. He found employment as an assistant to a professional photographer, and began studying at a school of the arts. His studies led to the production of a number of paintings and stained glass
designs, and by the age of 17 Macleod was earning enough from commissions to purchase a home for his mother, away from her husband. For a time he also worked as a drawing
master in schools.
, the Illustrated Sydney News, the Town and Country Journal and others. He also obtained a reputation as a portrait painter whose work was hung at exhibitions of the Art Societies in both Sydney and Melbourne. For many years he was hardworking and successful. When The Bulletin
started in 1880, he had a drawing in the first number and for the next two years was a regular contributor. Months after The Bulletin was launched, he and another artist, Samuel Begg, purchased a third share of the magazine, but relinquished it when the founders, J. F. Archibald
and John Haynes were more financially secure. He then became one of the artists for the Picturesque Atlas of Australasia and did a large number of illustrations for it, including most of the portraits. When he was approaching the end of this work, J. F. Archibald
, who had been impressed by his business methods when a contributor to the Bulletin, asked him to join the staff. He became business manager in September 1887, soon acquired an interest in the paper, and for nearly 40 years was actively engaged in the management of it. He also read all the proofs with a watchful eye for possible libel actions. At one period he owned 75% of the paper but, recognising the value of Archibald's work for it, he handed over to him 25% as a gift. He practically gave up working as an artist, but took a special interest in the cartoonists. His greatest discovery was cartoonist David Low.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n artist and a partner in The Bulletin
The Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
.
Early life
Macleod was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. His father was of a Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
family and his mother Cornish
Cornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
/German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The family emigrated to Australia in 1854 or 1855, drawn by the potential for riches from the Victorian goldrush
Australian gold rushes
The Australian gold rush started in 1851 when prospector Edward Hammond Hargraves claimed the discovery of payable gold near Bathurst, New South Wales, at a site Edward Hargraves called Ophir.Eight months later, gold was found in Victoria...
, but Macleod's father died a year later.
His mother moved 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...
and was remarried to James Anderson, a portrait painter. Anderson's heavy drinking and the family's parlius financial state forced Macleod to find work at the age of 12. He found employment as an assistant to a professional photographer, and began studying at a school of the arts. His studies led to the production of a number of paintings and stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
designs, and by the age of 17 Macleod was earning enough from commissions to purchase a home for his mother, away from her husband. For a time he also worked as a drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
master in schools.
Career
When Macleod was still in his early twenties he began contributing drawings to The Sydney MailThe Sydney Mail
The Sydney Mail was an Australian magazine published weekly in Sydney. The weekly edition of The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, it ran from 1860 to 1938....
, the Illustrated Sydney News, the Town and Country Journal and others. He also obtained a reputation as a portrait painter whose work was hung at exhibitions of the Art Societies in both Sydney and Melbourne. For many years he was hardworking and successful. When The Bulletin
The Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
started in 1880, he had a drawing in the first number and for the next two years was a regular contributor. Months after The Bulletin was launched, he and another artist, Samuel Begg, purchased a third share of the magazine, but relinquished it when the founders, J. F. Archibald
J. F. Archibald
Jules François Archibald, known as J. F. Archibald, , Australian journalist and publisher, was co-owner and editor of The Bulletin during the days of its greatest influence in Australian politics and literary life...
and John Haynes were more financially secure. He then became one of the artists for the Picturesque Atlas of Australasia and did a large number of illustrations for it, including most of the portraits. When he was approaching the end of this work, J. F. Archibald
J. F. Archibald
Jules François Archibald, known as J. F. Archibald, , Australian journalist and publisher, was co-owner and editor of The Bulletin during the days of its greatest influence in Australian politics and literary life...
, who had been impressed by his business methods when a contributor to the Bulletin, asked him to join the staff. He became business manager in September 1887, soon acquired an interest in the paper, and for nearly 40 years was actively engaged in the management of it. He also read all the proofs with a watchful eye for possible libel actions. At one period he owned 75% of the paper but, recognising the value of Archibald's work for it, he handed over to him 25% as a gift. He practically gave up working as an artist, but took a special interest in the cartoonists. His greatest discovery was cartoonist David Low.