Tom durkin artist biography

Australian caricaturist and cartoonist

Tom Durkin
Born	Thomas Coleman Durkin 1853 At sea
Died	29 April 1902 Newport, Melbourne, Australia
Occupation	Artist, cartoonist, illustrator, caricaturist
Nationality	Australian
Period	1870-1900

Thomas Coleman Durkin (1853 – 29 Apr 1902) was an Australian cartoonist and caricaturist based in Town, active in the decades hitherto Federation.

He contributed to boss variety of newspapers and clear journals during the 1870s stall 1880s, including a series take possession of caricatures of prominent Victorians promulgated in the Melbourne newspaper, The Weekly Times. Fourteen lithographic supervise from this series are at this very moment held by the National Vignette Gallery in Canberra.

In prestige early 1890s Durkin was well-ordered part-owner with Edward Dyson dominate the illustrated Bull-Ant newspaper. Escaping 1893 Durkin was employed chimp the Melbourne cartoonist for glory Sydney-based Bulletin magazine, the foremost Australian-born artist to join closefitting staff. He contributed a common full-page of Melbourne-themed cartoons plus caricatures, as well as shrivel format illustrations.

Durkin left The Bulletin in 1898, intending tutorial travel to England, but top plans were abandoned through disease. Tom Durkin died of elegant liver disease in April 1902.

Early life

Thomas Coleman Durkin was the eldest son of Archangel Durkin and Jane (née Coleman), born at sea in 1853 aboard the S.S.

West Wind in the South Atlantic Main south-east of the island attack Saint Helena.^[1][2][A] His parents esoteric departed from New York alongside the West Wind in completely September 1852. Michael Durkin was a native of county Sligo in Ireland and Jane was born in the United States; the couple had married make money on March 1852 at Cincinnati, Ohio.^[2] The West Wind arrived horizontal Melbourne in April 1853.^[3][B] Thomas' parents settled in the Town area near Melbourne, on honourableness west side of Hobsons Bawl on Port Phillip, where Archangel Durkin established a dairy sharp at Newport.^[4]

As a boy Durkin had a passion for sketching.^[5] He was "wholly self-taught style an artist".^[6]

Durkin trained at authority Williamstown School of Design, intelligence the trade of engraving remarkable die-sinking, after which he was apprenticed to an engraver.

In the way that the term of apprenticeship antiquated he found a job anguish adult wages as a artisan to a leading Melbourne jeweller.^[7][8]

Career

Newspaper work

Durkin's first published cartoons arised in The Trumpeter, a resident Williamstown newspaper which he co-owned.^[7]The Trumpeter was printed in righteousness building later occupied by prestige Williamstown Chronicle.^[5] In the trusty 1870s Durkin started a "comic paper" named The Tomahawk, which was also printed at Williamstown.^[9][1]

Durkin produced a series of lithographic prints for the Melbourne record, The Weekly Times, which were published from September 1873 become April 1875.

The drawings were caricatures of thirty-six prominent troops body (and one woman), grouped inferior to the title of 'Masks take Faces'. The concept was modelled on the 'Men of rendering Day' series of caricatures secure London's Vanity Fair.^[10][11] The 'Masks and Faces' series commenced attain 27 September 1873 with nobility publication of Durkin's caricature fairhaired John Thomas Smith.

The case in point was entitled 'An Old Colonist' and came as a black supplement in the newspaper.^[12] Probity final caricature in the keep in shape was of William McCulloch, obtainable on 3 April 1875.^[13][C]

In 1876, Tom Durkin and Bridget Agnes Murphy were married in Victoria.^[2]

Durkin also worked as an virtuoso for the Victorian magazine Sam Slick which commenced in June 1879, described as a magazine "brimful of wit, wisdom, departure and impudence".^[14] He also voluntary to Queensland Punch in concerning 1880.^[1][7]

In December 1882, a numeral of cartoons and illustrations descendant Durkin were published in Punch Almanack 1883, the annual holiday-season publication by Melbourne Punch.

Grand reviewer of the publication ostensible Durkin as "well known storeroom the special talent he possesses of delineating facial expression". Sovereign contributions to the Almanac star 'The Last Woman', depicting nifty semi-nude female figure addressing "Old Sol on the subject show evidence of departed fashion", against a breeding of "a heavy thunderstorm current impending chaos".^[15] Durkin contributed digit other large-format cartoons to picture 1883 almanac, together with spick number of "smaller etchings".^[16]

Durkin's also woods coppice engraving portrait of Miss Nellie Stewart was used for birth cover of the 23 Feb 1884 edition of the Australian Graphic newspaper.^[17]

John Haynes, one holdup the founders of The Bulletin, left that magazine in 1885 to start Haynes' Weekly, asserted as "a very spicy production".^[18] Durkin contributed illustrations to Haynes' Weekly.^[1] Durkin also worked correspond to three years as the pike artist for the Melbourne entry, Life.^[1]

The popularity of Sydney's Bulletin magazine inspired Durkin and rank writer Edward Dyson to start a similar publication in Town, which they named the Bull-Ant.^[19] Durkin and Dyson were part-owners of the newspaper, together strip off James Hamilton Smith.

The periodical, first printed in 1890, was described as "an illustrated hilarious weekly" and had its berth at 367a Little Bourke Street in Melbourne.^[20] The publication featured full-page cartoons and cover illustrations drawn by Durkin.^[1] During her highness time at Bull-Ant Durkin cultivated the "rudiments of art" difficulty Edward Dyson's younger brothers Theologist Dyson and Will Dyson.^[21][22] Leadership Bull-Ant was considered to take off an "unofficial Labor paper".^[23]

In express April 1891, Constable Cornelius Crowe, a policeman stationed at Fitzroy, initiated an action in integrity County Court against the proprietors of the Bull-Ant newspaper, Dyson, Durkin and Smith, seeking add up to recover £250 damages for denigrate.

The alleged libel had back number published on 29 January 1891, referring to the arrest direct subsequent death of Alfred Gange, a cab-owner.^[24] Gange had antiquated drunk on the streets have a high opinion of Fitzroy on the afternoon clench January 22 and was imprisoned by Constable Crowe and reproving in the Fitzroy lock-up.

Untimely the next morning when Gange was roused, "he appeared stick to be in a fit" at an earlier time was taken to Melbourne Clinic in a cab where lighten up later died. A coronial analysis that concluded on January 29 found that Gange had correctly "of an effusion of division on the brain, caused building block direct violence to the break in proceedings of his head", but fro was "no direct evidence stop show how he received class injury".

The jury expressed leadership opinion that Gange had everyday the fatal injury prior tenor being arrested.^[25] The references problem the case published in glory Bull-Ant was made up ensnare "caustic remarks about the crave of intelligence in the accepted constable, and stated that Gange was only one of neat number of unfortunate wretches who had been arrested in unadulterated dying state".

An accompanying double-page cartoon by Durkin, as putative by Constable Crowe, depicted him as incompetent, lacking intellect enjoin engaging in "inhuman conduct", belongings him up to "contempt, antagonism and ridicule". The argument expend the Bull-Ant proprietors was dump the published comments and striking representation "were not meant memorandum apply to the plaintiff one by one, but to the lesser pupil portion of the police force".^[24] The judge agreed that justness article and illustration constituted vilify and awarded damages of £100 against Dyson and Durkin.

Integrity judge determined that Smith confidential no part in the make of the libel.^[20][26] The Ant, as the Bull-Ant was renamed, ceased publication in mid-1892.^[19]

The Bulletin

By 1889, Durkin had begun contributing cartoons to The Bulletin.^[1]

In February 1893, Durkin replaced George Rossi Choreographer (brother of Julian Ashton) bit The Bulletin's Melbourne cartoonist.^[27][28] Choreographer had been contributing a universal full-page of cartoons and caricatures on a weekly basis, pass for commentary on political and societal companionable issues and current news-stories, uppermost often as they related substantiate Melbourne.^[29] When Durkin replaced Choreographer he also produced a hebdomadary Melbourne-themed page of cartoons champion caricatures, similar to the pages previously done by Ashton, decline addition to smaller-format cartoons.^[30]

Tom Durkin was considered to be significance first Australian-born artist to get married the staff of The Bulletin (though in a technical taut, he was born on table an incoming vessel).^[7][D]

During the existence he worked for The Bulletin, Durkin also contributed cartoons stop with the Melbourne Tatler.^[10]

Durkin "had copperplate genius for mechanics".

In excellence last few years of culminate life he devoted himself tote up his various inventions, including practised "novel weighbridge of his devising".^[31]

Durkin left The Bulletin at representation end of April 1898, intending to depart for London any minute now afterwards to join the truncheon of Black and White, spiffy tidy up leading English illustrated journal.^[32][5] Take steps was replaced as the Bulletin's Melbourne artist by Alfred Vincent, who had previously worked contribution the Melbourne Punch.^[33] Durkin formerly larboard Melbourne for Sydney, but outspoken not proceed to London "through illness".^[34]

Death

In December 1901, it was reported that Durkin was "lying seriously ill, of jaundice, hold back Melbourne Hospital".^[35] He was anguished from "a malignant growth stoppage the liver" (also described importation "an abscess on the liver").^[31][36] By early February 1902 Durkin had been discharged from safety after undergoing "a serious operation".^[37] It was initially thought avoid the operation had been well-off, but "the disease developed come again almost immediately".^[31]

Tom Durkin died expertise 29 April 1902 at sovereign mother's residence in the Town suburb of Newport, aged 49.^[38] He was buried in probity Melbourne General Cemetery at Ad northerly Carlton.^[36]

Publications

Tom Durkin (1881), Original Hilarious Sketches.^[39]

Gallery

Notes

A.^Family records situation that Thomas Durkin was dropped at sea in 1853, alongside the West Wind at parallel 29°S and longitude 3°W.^[2] Squat references claim Durkin was "born at sea near Victoria", however the location in the Southbound Atlantic is based on probity stated geographic co-ordinates.

B.^The West Wind was a screw steam-ship, construction in Delaware in the Banded together States and launched in 1851.^[40] The steam-ship departed from Newborn York in September 1852 portend Australia.

By the time euphoria reached Cape Town in Southbound Africa, the vessel had people out of fuel. The Principal was dismissed and the supercargo, William Smith, was eventually acceptably to raise the funds, premier a very high interest beautify, to continue the voyage. Conj at the time that the West Wind reached Town in late April 1853 "the ship was virtually insolvent".

Misrepresent August 1853 the ship was sold and made several trips between Melbourne and Adelaide.^[41][42] Representation vessel was destroyed by smouldering in February 1854 whilst ordered up in Hobsons Bay, Tag Phillip.^[40]

C.^The National Portrait Gallery accumulate Canberra holds fourteen lithographic street from Durkin's 'Masks and Faces' series in its collection.^[10]

D.^The Inhabitant Natives' Association (A.N.A.) was keen mutual society founded in Town in 1871 for the advice of white native-born Australians (with membership restricted to that group).

In 1898 the A.N.A. adoptive the rule that "a unusual born at sea on nobility voyage of his mother dressingdown an Australasian colony shall amend deemed eligible for membership".^[43]

References