1852, Paris – 1926, Sydney

Henri Tebbitt was born in Paris to British parents in 1852, but was exiled from France following his participation in the Communard uprising in Paris in 1871. After travelling throughout Europe, he settled in England, where he emerged as a self-taught artist. Tebbitt exhibited in the exhibitions of the Royal Society of British Artists (1882) and the Royal Academy of Arts (1884), before coming to Australia in 1889. An extensive display of Tebbitt’s work was included in the seventh annual exhibition of the Queensland Art Society in 1895, when Tebbitt was living in Brisbane; his work was acquired for the Queensland National Art Gallery’s Collection the same year. Tebbitt moved to Toowoomba in 1896, and though he lived in Sydney for most of the remainder of his life, he maintained a strong connection with Brisbane and the region. Tebbitt travelled widely throughout Australia and his pictures were extremely popular with the public.