Bio
Albert Edward Aldis (Britain New Zealand Australian 1865-1921)
Albert Edward Aldis, an English artist who was born in the London suburb of Kentish Town and immigrated to New Zealand in 1886. He lived and painted in both New Zealand and Australia, spending the last decade of his life in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales
In April 1886 father (Elijah) and son embarked for New Zealand where they established a studio and art gallery in Auckland and began conducting art classes and exhibiting their own works for sale. During the following years Elijah took commissions as a portrait painter while his son set about establishing his own credentials as a landscape artist, travelling widely and painting prolifically.
A portrait by Elijah and three of Albert’s paintings are held in the permanent collection of the Auckland City Art Gallery. Albert’s travels also brought him into contact with the Maori communities and stimulated what became more than just a passing interest in Maori culture. When Elijah died in Auckland in July 1889, Albert moved to Melbourne. In the early 1890s he boarded with Rose and Percy Grainger at their Glenferrie home, ‘Kilalla’, where he taught Percy drawing and introduced him to Maori chants and songs. Grainger credited him as an important early influence and the Grainger Museum (University of Melbourne) holds a number of his works.
