In early 1842, William Nicholas placed an advertisement in the Sydney Herald offering his services as a 'miniature painter on ivory and in watercolours, a lithographer and draughtsman'. In 1847, a review of the inaugural exhibition of the Society for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in Australia, in which Nicholas exhibited, described him as 'the best portrait painter in watercolours in the colony', and 'one of those quiet unobtrusive men of genius who work their way into notice and distinction without any assistance from newspapers'. Nicholas, whose studio-residence on Elizabeth Street provided an 'attiring room' for ladies, indeed seems to have been the portraitist of choice for Sydney's leading families. This work, attributed to Nicholas, depicts Theresa (1820–1869) and James Laidley Mort (1843–1907), the wife and eldest son of Thomas Sutcliffe Mort, one of nineteenth-century Sydney's most prominent businessmen. While Nicholas may be best known for his charming watercolours of society figures – particularly women and children – he also lithographed many drawings for publication, including those in William Baker's Heads of the People (1848).
Gift of the Mort family 2009
William Nicholas (age 35 in 1844)
Theresa Mort (age 24 in 1844)
James Laidley Mort (age 1 in 1844)
Mr David Mort (1 portrait)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Joanna Gilmour writes about the portraiture of the colonial artist William Nicholas.
At just 7.8 x 6.2 cm, the daguerreotype of Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa is one of the smallest works in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.
