George Edmund Butler ( – ) was a landscape and portrait painter specialising in oils and watercolours. Born in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, his family emigrated to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

when he was 11 years old. After completing his schooling, he studied art at the Wellington School of Design and at various schools in Europe . He returned to New Zealand and worked as a professional artist for a time before settling in England. He soon developed a reputation for portrait and landscape works. Late in the First World War, he became an official war artist in the

New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

(NZEF), with the honorary rank of captain. He executed several works of senior officers of the NZEF and its battles after the war and died in England in 1936.

Early life

Born 15 January 1872 in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, England, George Edmund Butler emigrated to New Zealand with his parents, Joseph Cawte Butler and Jane Tiller, in 1883, settling in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. After completing his education at Te Aro School, Butler worked for his father and studied art part-time under James Nairn at the Wellington School of Design.

Art education

Butler enrolled at the Wellington School of Design in 1890. In 1892 he joined the

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

Wellington Art Club, founded by Nairn, and soon established a local reputation for his paintings of seascapes. In 1897, Butler went to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

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. During a period spent in England, Butler married his first wife, Sarah Jane Popplestone, on 29 April 1899 at

Lyndhurst, Hampshire Lyndhurst is a large village and civil parish situated in the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, England, about nine miles () south-west of Southampton. Known as the "Capital of the New Forest", Lyndhurst houses the New Forest District, Ne ...

. Butler studied at the

Lambeth School of Art Founded in 1854 as the Lambeth School of Art, the City and Guilds of London Art School is a small specialist art college located in central London, England. Originally founded as a government art school, it is now an independent, not-for-profit ...

, and the

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

in Paris, where he gained honours. He later studied at the

Antwerp Academy The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp () is an art academy located in Antwerp, Belgium. It is one of the oldest of its kind in Europe. It was founded in 1663 by David Teniers the Younger, painter to the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and Don Juan of ...

, winning a gold medal and laurel wreath in 1900.

Art career

In 1900, Butler returned to Wellington and exhibited his work in art society exhibitions there and in Christchurch. In 1901 he settled in Dunedin and exhibited there until 1905. While his work won praise at the Otago Art Society exhibitions, he struggled financially as a professional artist. He supplemented his income 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 College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...

. Butler was elected to the

Royal West of England Academy The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) is Bristol's oldest art gallery, located in Clifton, Bristol, near the junction of Queens Road and Whiteladies Road. Situated in a Grade II* listed building, it hosts five galleries and an exhibition prog ...

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 Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

, the

New Society of Artists The New Society of Artists was formed in London in 1921. Its primary aim was to give a chance for artists whose work had not been accepted by the Royal Academy (RA) to exhibit their work in London and, later, in the provinces. In 1932 it became the ...

and the annual salon exhibition at the

Société des Artistes Français The Société des Artistes Français (, meaning "Society of French Artists") is the association of French painters and sculptors established in 1881. Its annual exhibition is called the "Salon des artistes français" (not to be confused with the ...

in Paris.

War artist

George Edmund Butler - A roadside cemetery near Neuve Eglise

The

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. Appointed with the honorary rank of captain in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) in September 1918, he joined the

New Zealand Division The New Zealand Division was an infantry division of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force raised for service in the First World War. It was formed in Egypt in early 1916 when the New Zealand and Australian Division was renamed after the detachmen ...

in France later that same month. He observed a number of military operations, some while under fire, during his time with the division, making drawings in a sketchbook carried for this purpose. These sketches later became the basis for his paintings. After the Armistice, he returned to France and Belgium to sketch the various New Zealand battlefield sites. Demobilised from the NZEF on 31 December 1918, Butler was privately commissioned by

Robert Heaton Rhodes Robert Heaton Rhodes (1815 – 1 June 1884) was a New Zealand politician who represented the Akaroa electorate from 1871 to 1874, when he resigned. He was elected unopposed in 1871. Biography Born in 1815 in Rotherham, in the English county ...

and Major General Sir

Andrew Hamilton Russell Major General Sir Andrew Hamilton Russell (23 February 1868 – 29 November 1960) was a senior officer of the New Zealand Military Forces who served during the First World War. Born in Napier, New Zealand, Russell spent most of his youth in En ...

, commander of the New Zealand Division, 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. This was agreed to in September 1921 and payment to Butler was approved, 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. These works are now held at the National Archives in Wellington.

Second marriage and death

Butler never returned to New Zealand after the war and resumed life in England. Following the death of his wife in 1928, he married Monica Susan Boyce in London on 29 April 1929. He died at

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

on 9 August 1936. He was survived by his second wife and the two children from his first marriage, Bernice and Brian.

References

External links

*
102 works relating to George Edmund Butler
at the

Archives New Zealand Archives New Zealand ( Māori: ''Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga'') is New Zealand's national archive and the official guardian of its public archives. As the government's recordkeeping authority, it administers the Public Records Act 2005 an ...

War Art Digitisation Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, George Edmund 1872 births 1936 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters 20th-century English painters British landscape painters New Zealand landscape painters Members of the Royal West of England Academy Artists from Southampton New Zealand war artists British war artists 20th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists