H. Walter Barnett
| Henry Walter Barnett | |
|---|---|
Barnett c. 1894
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| Born |
Henry Walter Barnett 25 January 1862 St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia |
| Died | 16 January 1934 (aged 71) Nice, France |
| Other names | H. Walter Barnett |
| Occupation | Photographer |
Henry Walter Barnett (25 January 1862 – 16 January 1934), usually known as H. Walter Barnett, was an Australian photographer and filmmaker. Barnett was a prominent portrait photographer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, establishing the successful Falk studios in Sydney. Later in his career he was based in London, England, with studios at Hyde Park Corner and Knightsbridge. Barnett became involved in filmmaking after meeting cinematographer Marius Sestier in 1896, and with Sestier made some of the first films shot in Australia.
Barnett was born on 25 January 1862 in St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia, one of seven children of English-born Jewish parents Lewis Barnett, a merchant, and his wife Alice Jacobs. He left school at the age of 13 and began his photographic career as a studio assistant, later establishing a studio in Hobart, Tasmania with his business partner Harold Riise. In 1884 he sold his share of the Hobart studio, after which he travelled and worked variously in London and the United States. During his time in London he was employed by the society photographers W. & D. Downey, where he assisted in photographing the future King Edward VII.
In 1885 Barnett founded the Falk studios in Sydney, at which he established himself as one of Australia's leading portrait photographers. He opened a second studio in Melbourne in 1895. He was known in particular for photographing stage stars and other celebrities; one of his best-known sitters was Sarah Bernhardt, who sat for him while visiting Australia in 1891. Other prominent visitors to Australia photographed by Barnett were Robert Louis Stevenson in 1893 and Mark Twain in 1896. One of his most notable works was a photograph of Henry Parkes, in which according to Ennis (2004), Parkes "plays the role of a wise old man whose intense expression is evocative of a seer's". Barnett married Hilda "Ella" Frances Clement Forbes in 1889.
In 1896 Barnett met French cinematographer Marius Sestier, an agent of early filmmakers the Lumière brothers assigned to demonstrate their cinématographe abroad. Barnett and Sestier began making films together, starting with a short film of passengers disembarking from the ship S.S. Brighton in Manly, which was the first film shot and screened in Australia. They made approximately 19 films together in Sydney and Melbourne, most notably a film of the 1896 Melbourne Cup horse race. Barnett directed the films while Sestier operated the cinématographe, and in the Melbourne Cup film Barnett is seen on camera encouraging spectators to wave their hats as the horses cross the finish line. The Melbourne Cup film was premiered at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne on 19 November 1896. It was covered in the Australian press, including The Age and The Bulletin, and has been cited as Australia's first film production.
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