BRYANT, Charles David Jones (1883-1937)

artist, always known as Charles Bryant

was born at Sydney on 11 May 1883. He was educated at Sydney Grammar School and then obtained a position in the Bank of New South Wales. He studied painting at Sydney under W. Lister Lister, and was an exhibitor at the Royal Art Society of New South Wales for some years. He went to London in 1908 and studied with John Hassall at London and Julius Olsson, A.R.A., at St Ives. He exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Paris Salon, where he received an honourable mention for "Morning Mists" in 1913, and with many well-known societies. He was appointed an official artist on the western front in 1917 and did many paintings for the Australian government. After the war he came to Australia in 1922, and in 1923 was sent to the mandated territories in New Guinea to paint scenes of the occupation by the Australians. In 1925 he painted a picture of the American fleet which was presented by Sydney citizens to the U.S.A. government. This picture is now at the Capitol, Washington. Returning to England, some 10 years passed before Bryant was in Australia again. He had a very successful one man show at Sydney towards the end of 1936, which was followed by another at Melbourne. He died at Sydney on 22 January 1937. He was unmarried.

Bryant was an able painter in oils mostly of marine subjects. He held various official positions in connexion with art societies, having been a member of the council of the Royal Institute of Painters in Oil, a vice-president of the Royal Art Society, Sydney, and president of the London Sketch Club. He is represented in the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Castlemaine and Manly galleries, the Australian war museum at Canberra, and the Imperial war museum, London.

W. Moore, The Story of Australian Art; Who's Who in Art, 1929: The Argus, Melbourne, 23 January 1937; Who's Who in Australia, 1933; Art in Australia, February 1922.