Ernest William Christmas
1863–1918 · Australian landscape painter associated with the Volcano school
Ernest William Christmas (1863-1918) was an Australian painter known mainly for his landscapes. Born near Adelaide to English immigrant parents, he took his first lessons in Adelaide and Sydney, and he seems to have been strongly influenced by the realist work of Henry James Johnstone. From 1894 to 1900 he lived in Kalgoorlie, where the cultural historian Tim Bonyhady describes him as a minor artist who painted Aboriginal people and dead trees.
From 1900 to 1902 he worked in Europe as a government representative, choosing pictures for the Australian Federal International Exhibition, and he eventually sent about 270 paintings home. Around 1905 to 1907 he lived in New Zealand, working for the Tourist Department and painting across the country. His travels grew even wider later on: he spent 1911 to 1913 in Argentina and Chile, roaming the Andes, and reached San Francisco in 1915. In 1916, on the way back to Australia, he stopped in Hawaii and stayed, already in poor health. He died there of heart failure in 1918.
His best-known images include views of the Kilauea Caldera, which link him to the Volcano school, along with Andean scenes and Australian river landscapes.