Miniature portrait of Montague J. W. Battye, son of Captain Edward Montague Battye / by Emily Mary Barton; together with miniature portraits of George Battye, Montague J. Battye and Arthur F. Battye / by unknown artist

PXB 1762

fonds

1836, 3 May 1855

Graphic Materials, Drawings, Watercolours

9664975

4 drawings - conte, watercolour, pencil - on card 100 x 62 mm

Montague Battye (1841-1900) was the eldest son of Captain Edward Montague Battye (1817-1898) who arrived in New South Wales from England in 1848 as aide-de-camp to his uncle Major-General Edward Wynyard. Captain Battye joined the NSW police in 1851 and took command of the Western Region Mounted Police and Gold Escort. The miniature portrait of Montague Battye was done at Bathurst in 1855, when the Captain commissioned Emily, wife of Robert Barton of Boree Nyrang, near Molong, to draw his son’s portrait in “carte de visite” format, to match three family portraits with identical dimensions which he had brought with him from England. Captain Battye remained in the police until his retirement in 1893. He died in 1898. Very little is known about Montague J. W. Battye. He died at his home in North Sydney at the age of 59 in 1900.

Emily Mary Barton came to New South Wales in 1839 and a year later married Robert Johnstone Barton of Boree Nyrang, near Molong. She is best known as a poet, publishing poems in the Illustrated Sydney News from 1853, including several prize-winning poems during the 1880s. She was also said to be an accomplished portrait painter and exhibited a watercolour Half Figure at the Sydney Intercolonial Exhibition in 1870.
After her husband died in 1863, she sold Boree Nyrang and moved to ‘Rockend’ at Gladesville, Sydney. A. B. ‘Banjo’ Paterson was her grandson.

Reference:
Library correspondence file

1. Montague J. W. Battye, son of Captain Edward Montague Battye, aged 13 years, 3 May 1855. Conte and pencil drawing by Mrs E. M. Barton

2. George Battye, father of Captain Edward Montague Battye, aged 50 years, 1836. Watercolour drawing by unknown artist

3. Montague J. Battye, brother of Captain Edward Montague Battye, aged 14 years, 1836. Watercolour drawing by unknown artist

4. Arthur F. Battye, brother of Captain Edward Montague Battye, aged 12 years, 1836. Watercolour drawing by unknown artist

Out of copyright:
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

On verso of portrait of Montague J. W. Battye in ink: ‘Montague Jn. W. Battye by Mrs Barton, 3/5/55, when 13 years old’; and an inscription in the hand of the artist, partially cut when the card was trimmed by the family to fit into an album window mount: ‘J. W. Battye, 13 years of [age] 3/5/[55] Mrs E. M. [Barton]’

Identifying captions in pencil on verso of other portraits.