Morning mists

Henry Fullwood was born in Warwickshire, England and studied at the Birmingham School of Art. He arrived in Australia in 1883 where he worked as an illustrator and lithographer for the 'Australian Town and Country Journal' and the 'Picturesque Atlas of Australasia'. Fullwood painted and made etchings while in Australia, but financial difficulties led him to leave for New York in 1900, then London. He returned to Australia in 1920.

Fullwood felt the specific paper and printing techniques used in making monotypes was vital. When he exhibited monotypes in London 1904 he wrote: 'It seems to me that the only excuse for monotyping is the quality and beautiful texture obtained through the medium of the paper used in printing or taking off the impression of the oil painting ... some effects will be produced better by using blotting-paper, Japanese or Chinese or India papers ...To print the picture I find rubbing with an ivory paper-knife by far the best ... whereas if a printing press is used with an even pressure not so much feeling can be produced as with the rubbing process' (A H Fullwood, 'The art of monotyping', The Studio, vol.32, no.136, July 1904, pg. 149).

He exhibited 51 monotypes of South African, British and European subjects (catalogued as 'colour-drawings') in London in 1910. They were described in the catalogue: 'Mr Fullwood's Colour-Drawings are really original paintings in oil-colours transferred whilst the painting is still wet to either Indian, Japanese or other fine paper. The object of this is to secure the additional quality given by the texture of the paper, a quality somewhat alike to that given to an oil painting on canvas by scraping. Each drawing is unique and can not be duplicated; any attempt at repetition invariable resulting in varying effects and qualities'.

He exhibited a monotype titled 'Morning mists' at Gayfield Shaw's Gallery, Sydney in 1921, and again the following year.

Hendrik Kolenberg and Anne Ryan, 'Australian prints in the Gallery's collection', AGNSW, 1998