Andrew MacCormac (23 December 1826 – 13 August 1918) was a portrait painter in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

History

Andrew was born on 23 December 1826 in

Banbridge Banbridge ( ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. It is in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of Iveagh Upper ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, Ireland and studied at Lee's Academy in London. His father John MacCormac was the town clerk of Banbridge County Down, Ireland. Andrew was persuaded to come to Australia by the G. C. King , Town clerk of Melbourne, who was in England lobbying to stop the transportation of convicts to Victoria. MacCormac and his wife travelled by steamer ''Golden Age'' to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 1854. He was ordained a minister of the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Church, but at some stage became a Baptist. He moved to South Australia in 1868McCulloch, Alan ''Encyclopedia of Australian Art'' Hutchinson of London, 1968. Spelled "McCormac" in this reference and ministered to the Moonta Baptist Church for a year, then moved to

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct (Australia), precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. Laid out in a grid plan in three section ...

where he turned professional portraitist in oils. He was also a writer and poet of some ability. He published one small volume of verse '' Via Crucis; or Death and Life'' dedicated to Lord Hallam Tennyson. He attempted painting landscapes, but those he exhibited at the

Adelaide Easel Club The Adelaide Easel Club was a society for South Australian painters which broke away from the South Australian Society of Arts in 1892 and which re-merged with the parent organization in 1901. History The club was founded in November 1892 when a ...

, of which he was a member, were received without enthusiasm.

Some portraits

*Sir

Henry Ayers Sir Henry Ayers (now pron. "airs") (1 May 1821 – 11 June 1897) was the eighth Premier of South Australia, serving a record five times between 1863 and 1873. His lasting memorial was in the name Ayers Rock, now better-known as Uluru, wh ...

*Sir Richard Baker *Sir

John Cox Bray Sir John Cox Bray (31 May 1842 – 13 June 1894) was a prominent South Australian politician and the first native-born Premier of South Australia (1881–1884). Early life and education John Cox Bray was born in East Adelaide, a son of Tom C ...

John Howard Clark John Howard Clark (15 January 1830 – 20 May 1878) was editor of '' The South Australian Register'' from 1870 to 1877 and was responsible for its ''Echoes from the Bush'' column and closely associated with its ''Geoffry Crabthorn'' persona. ...

*Sir Lewis Cohen * G. W. Cotton *

Daniel Cudmore Daniel Cudmore is a Canadian actor, stuntman, and former professional rugby union player. He is best known for his roles as the superhero Peter Rasputin / Colossus in the ''X-Men'' film series, and as the Volturi Felix in ''The Twilight Saga' ...

* John Darling, Sr. *Rev. James Jefferis Congregationalist minister * George S. Kingston *Sir William Milne *Sir

John Morphett Sir John Morphett (4 May 1809 – 7 November 1892) was a South Australian pioneer, landowner and politician. His younger brother George Morphett was also an early settler in South Australia. Early life Morphett was born in London, t ...

*Admiral W. J. S. Pullen *Sir Robert Ross *Sir R. R. Torrens *Rev.

James Way Rev. James Way (17 June 1804 – 14 August 1884) was a Bible Christian minister in the early days of the colony of South Australia, and for whom Way College was named. He was the father of Sir Samuel Way. History Way was born in Morchard Bisho ...

Congregationalist minister (drawing) *John Whinham, founder of

North Adelaide Grammar School North Adelaide Grammar School, later Whinham College was a private school operated in North Adelaide, South Australia by John Whinham (3 August 1803 – 13 March 1886) and his family. History John Whinham The founder of the school was born at S ...

* Silas Mead, founding minister of Flinders street Baptist Church, portrait hangs in Mead Hall at Flinders Street Baptist Church.

Family

He married Emily Mary Johnson (21 March 1847 – 3 November 1898). Their children included: *Alexander Henry MacCormac (11 February 1872 – 7 August 1944) married Esther May Leedham (6 May 1881 – 1 September 1958) on 14 September 1910 at the residence of her parents at Bowden on the Hill, SA *Nicholas Chevalier MacCormac (17 June 1873 – 25 July 1956) married Margaret Mary Edith Turner (1879 – ) on 12 April 1906 in Goodwood, SA *David Johnson MacCormac (7 December 1874 – ) *Mitchell Henry MacCormac (21 October 1874 – 29 October 1954) married Mary Louise McGregor (c. 1889 – 5 August 1930) on 14 January 1915 at the Methodist Parsonage South Terrace, Adelaide *Idelette MacCormac (19 June 1868 – 8 June 1931) Never married *Muriel MacCormac (12 November 1869 – 6 November 1939) married Harry Thomas Percy Macklin (1855 – 2 August 1902) on 19 August 1899 in Cuthburt Street Prospect, lived at

Semaphore Semaphore (; ) is the use of an apparatus to create a visual signal transmitted over distance. A semaphore can be performed with devices including: fire, lights, flags, sunlight, and moving arms. Semaphores can be used for telegraphy when arra ...

*Emily Mary MacCormac (15 August 1880 – 7 November 1880) *Irene MacCormac (7 March 1888 – 22 July 1963) married Friedrich Wilhelm Altmann (c. 1885 – 17 July 1954) on 16 October 1915, lived at Wilmington They lived at Clifton Street,

Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (minin ...

Recognition

*He was awarded a gold medal at the International Exhibition in London 1862. *He was awarded a gold medal at the International Exhibition in London 1873. These two references may refer to one award, and one or other date is incorrect. *Samples of his work are held by the

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

. *Several of his portraits adorn the chamber walls of the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

Adelaide City Council The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council, is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia. It is legally defined as the capital city of Sout ...

and the

Town of Gawler The Town of Gawler is a local government area located north of Adelaide city centre in South Australia containing Gawler and its suburbs. The corporate town was established in 1857 due to the township's residents' dissatisfaction at being govern ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacCormac, Andrew Australian Presbyterian ministers Clergy from South Australia Australian portrait painters 1826 births 1918 deaths 19th-century Australian painters 19th-century Australian male artists 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Irish emigrants to colonial Australia People from Banbridge Australian male painters 19th-century Australian Baptist ministers Artists from County Down 19th-century Australian Presbyterian ministers 20th-century Australian clergy