GRITTEN, HENRY (c. 1817-1873), artist,

the son of a London picture dealer, was born probably in 1817. He studied art and was on friendly terms with David Roberts and other leading artists of the period. He began exhibiting at the Royal Academy in 1835, and during the next 10 years 12 of his pictures were hung at its exhibitions. He was a more frequent exhibitor at the British Institution, and had 30 of his pictures hung there between 1836 and 1848. In the latter year he went to the United States and in about 1852 arrived in Australia. He went first to the Bendigo goldfields, but soon resumed painting in Victoria and Tasmania; there is a View of Hobart in 1857 by him at the Commonwealth national library at Canberra. He was represented at the first exhibition of the Victorian Academy of Art held at Melbourne in 1870. He died suddenly at Melbourne on 14 January 1873 leaving a widow and four children in poor circumstances.

Gritten was quite a capable painter of his period who had a hard struggle in Australia. He is represented in the national gallery and Connell collections, Melbourne, the Mitchell library, Sydney, and the Commonwealth national library, Canberra.