Gracius Joseph Broinowski
Encyclopedia
Gracius Joseph Broinowski (7 March 1837 – 11 April 1913) was an Australia
n artist
and ornithologist
. He was born at the village of Walichnowy
in central Poland
, the son of a landowner and military officer. He studied languages, classics and art at Munich University. In about 1857 he joined the crew of a windjammer
bound for Australia, leaving the ship at Portland, Victoria
.
Broinowski spent the next few years doing various jobs, including working for a publisher in Melbourne, selling and promoting his paintings, and travelling widely in eastern Australia. He married Jane Smith, the daughter of a whaling captain, in about 1863. In 1880 he settled in Sydney
, teaching painting, lecturing on art and holding exhibitions of his own work.
In the 1880s he began to publish illustrated works on Australian natural history
. First came "The Birds and Mammals of Australia", followed in 1888 by "The Cockatoos and Nestors of Australia and New Zealand", and "The Birds of Australia
" in 1891.
Broinowski died at Mosman
in Sydney, survived by his wife, six sons and a daughter. One son, Leopold
, became a significant political journalist in Tasmania
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and ornithologist
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
. He was born at the village of Walichnowy
Walichnowy
Walichnowy is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Sokolniki, within Wieruszów County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies approximately east of Sokolniki, east of Wieruszów, and south-west of the regional capital Łódź....
in central Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, the son of a landowner and military officer. He studied languages, classics and art at Munich University. In about 1857 he joined the crew of a windjammer
Windjammer
A windjammer is the ultimate type of large sailing ship with an iron or for the most part steel hull, built to carry cargo in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century...
bound for Australia, leaving the ship at Portland, Victoria
Portland, Victoria
The city of Portland is the oldest European settlement in what is now the state of Victoria, Australia. It is the main urban centre of the Shire of Glenelg. It is located on Portland Bay.-History:...
.
Broinowski spent the next few years doing various jobs, including working for a publisher in Melbourne, selling and promoting his paintings, and travelling widely in eastern Australia. He married Jane Smith, the daughter of a whaling captain, in about 1863. In 1880 he settled in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, teaching painting, lecturing on art and holding exhibitions of his own work.
In the 1880s he began to publish illustrated works on Australian natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
. First came "The Birds and Mammals of Australia", followed in 1888 by "The Cockatoos and Nestors of Australia and New Zealand", and "The Birds of Australia
The Birds of Australia (Broinowski)
The Birds of Australia is an illustrated book depicting Australian birds. It comprises six parts of 303 full-page, folio-sized, chromolithographed illustrations of over 700 species of Australian birds, with accompanying descriptive text...
" in 1891.
Broinowski died at Mosman
Mosman, New South Wales
Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Mosman.-Localities:In February...
in Sydney, survived by his wife, six sons and a daughter. One son, Leopold
Leopold Broinowski
Leopold Thomas Broinowski was an Australian political journalist.Broinowski was born in Carlton to ornithologist and artist Gracius Joseph Broinowski and Jane, née Smith. The family moved to Sydney in 1880 where Leopold attended St Ignatius' College, Riverview...
, became a significant political journalist in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
.