Fine Art Auctions

James Clarke Waite

James Clarke Waite studied at the Scottish Institute, Edinburgh; the Royal Academy School, London; and for a year in Paris. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1863 to 1885, and was elected a member of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1873.
Waite's work was first displayed in Australia with four paintings at the Sydney International Exhibition, 1879-80. He arrived in 1886 in Melbourne, held his first exhibition, of thirty works, in November and became a leading portrait painter. Among his early commissions were portraits of the architect Joseph Reed, Sir William Clarke and Matthew Lang. His portrait of Alfred Felton hangs in the National Gallery of Victoria. Waite was an early member of the Australian Artists' Association and joined the Victorian Artists' Society at its inception in 1888, being elected to the council for one year in 1894. He exhibited regularly at the Victorian Artists' Society and was represented in both the British and Australian galleries at Melbourne's Centennial International Exhibition of 1888.
Waite's work was characterized by great detail and high finish. Waite made several trips to Tasmania and he had a special affection for the Ovens District, Victoria. Represented in collections NGV,AGNSW, Bendigo Art Gallery, Footscray Historical Society and Manly Art Gallery.