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He died on 14 August 1971 at Sandringham, survived by his son, photographer John Cato, and his daughter.
He died on 14 August 1971 at Sandringham, survived by his son, photographer John Cato, and his daughter.


Collections of his photographs are held by the [[National Gallery of Australia]] and the [[National Portrait Gallery]], both in [[Canberra]], and [The State Library of Victoria]][http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/primo_library/libweb/action/dlSearch.do?ct=Next+Page&pag=nxt&dscnt=0&fctN=facet_rtype&onCampus=false&rfnGrp=1&query=any%2Ccontains%2CJack%20Cato&scp.scps=scope%3A(SLV_VOYAGER)%2Cscope%3A(SLV_DIGITOOL)%2Cscope%3A(SLVPRIMO)&fctV=images&tab=default_tab&dstmp=1417393501792&vl(10247183UI0)=any&ct=search&search_scope=Everything&indx=1&fromLogin=true&vl(1UIStartWith0)=contains&rfnGrpCounter=1&bulkSize=10&group=ALL&vl(freeText0)=Jack%20Cato&fn=search&vid=MAIN&institution=SLVPRIMO]
A collection of his photographs is held by the [[National Gallery of Australia]] and the [[National Portrait Gallery]], both in [[Canberra]].


==Exhibitions:==
==Exhibitions:==

Revision as of 00:27, 1 December 2014

Jack Cato
Born(1889-04-04)4 April 1889
Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
Died14 August 1971(1971-08-14) (aged 85)
Melbourne, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Other namesJohn Cyril Cato
Occupation(s)Photographer and Author
Known forauthor; The Story of the Camera in Australia

John Cyril (Jack) Cato, F.R.P.S. (4 April 1889 – 14 August 1971) was an Australian photographer, author and historian of photography. He was the author of the first history of Australian photography; The Story of the Camera in Australia (1955)

Early Life

John Cyril (Jack) Cato (1889-1971), photographer, was born on 4 April 1889 at Launceston, Tasmania, son of Albert Cox Cato, salesman, and his wife Caroline Louise, née Morgan. At the age of 12 years he did an apprenticeship, and studied arts in night school. His father arranged for him to have lessons from a friend who was a metallurgist at Queenstown, Tasmania, where he learnt the properties of metals in photography[1]. John Watt Beattie, a Scottish landscape photographer and also the son of a photographer, introduced young Jack to the medium in 1896. From 1901 Cato worked under Percy Whitelaw and John Andrew, both local portrait photographers. He was further trained by Lucien Dechaineux at Launceston Technical School.

Career

In 1906, aged 17, Cato joined Beattie in his Hobart premises and set up his own studio. Later he applied to be official photographer to (Sir) Douglas Mawson's 1911 Australasian Antarctic Expedition. However, Mawson passed him up and Henri Mallard in favour of Frank Hurley [2]. Cato travelled that year in Europe finding work with photographers in London, among them Claude Harris and H. Walter Barnett, the fashionable society and vice-regal portraitist. Having contracted tuberculosis and, seeking the relief of a warm climate, Cato left England in 1914 for six years working on Professor Cory’s expedition in Rhodesia [3]. The anthropological photography earned him a fellowship (1917) of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain.

In 1920 Cato returned, ill, to Tasmania, where he operated his own portrait-studio in Hobart, and there married Mary Boote Pearce (d.1970) on 24 December 1921. He was President of the Tasmanian Photographers' Association in 1923 [4]. In 1927 they moved to Melbourne [5]. With the patronage of Dame Nellie Melba [6], whom he had met in London, and through her introductions to society and to theatrical circles, he set up as a social portraitist. He put his Pictorialist style, natural gregariousness, love of theatre and technical knowledge to effect in becoming a leader of the trade in Melbourne for two decades. [7][8]

His photographs were frequently published in magazines and newspapers including Australian Womens Weekly, The Argus, Table Talk[9], The Hobart Mercury, and The Australasian. He maintained links with professional associations and amateur clubs through occasional exhibitions of his best work [10] , and was senior vice-president (1938) and a life member of the Professional Photographers' Association.

Cato retired from his Melbourne studio in 1946 to begin a career as an author. In addition to a large number of articles in photographic, philatelic and other magazines, as well as serving as chronicler for the Savage Club, he published an autobiography, "I Can Take It" (1947) [11] [12], and a pictorial documentary, "Melbourne" (1949)[13].

"The Story of the Camera in Australia"

Cato’s The Story of the Camera in Australia (1955) is acknowledged [14] as the first Australian national history of the medium, though it is more populist than academic. A keen stamp-collector from childhood (also 1935 president of the Royal Philatelic Society of Victoria) he was able to sell his stamps for about £10,000 in 1954 to finance six years of research for this book. He used the La Trobe Library picture and newspaper collections in Melbourne [15], making only one visit to Sydney and Canberra institutions. Cato also relied on written accounts such as the 100 or so letters from Harold Cazneaux, as well as corresponding with Keast Burke in Sydney, a photography historian and campaigner for the recognition of photography as a historical resource and was engaged in 1964 as consultant to the collections at the Australian National Library.

Later Life

From 1960-63 Cato was photography columnist for The Age newspaper in Melbourne.

He died on 14 August 1971 at Sandringham, survived by his son, photographer John Cato, and his daughter.

Collections of his photographs are held by the National Gallery of Australia and the National Portrait Gallery, both in Canberra, and [The State Library of Victoria]][1]

Exhibitions:

  • 1938 Queen Victoria Museum Art Gallery, Launceston [16][17]
  • 1936 Group Show Kodak (A'asia) Pty. Ltd. Gallery, Collins Street, Melbourne [18]
  • 1934 Group show Centenary International Exhibition of Professional Photography, Athenæum Gallery, Melbourne. Awarded Silver Medal in Commercial section [19].
  • 1932 Athenaeum Gallery [20]

Selected Bibliography

  • Cato, J. & Institute of Australian Photography (2009). Charles Nettleton (3rd ed). Institute of Australian Photography, Melbourne
  • Cato, J. (1971) Philately from Australia, Sept 1971
  • Cato, Jack (1963). Some early Australian Commonwealth postage stamp essays. Review Pubs, Dubbo, N.S.W
  • Cato, Jack (1955). The story of the camera in Australia. Georgian House, Melbourne
  • Cato, Jack (1949). Melbourne. Georgian House, Melbourne
  • Cato, Jack (1947). I can take it : the autobiography of a photographer. Georgian House, Melbourne
  • Dow, D. M. (1947) Melbourne Savages (Melb)
  • Cosier, I. (1980) Jack Cato (M.A. prelim thesis, University of Melbourne).
  • Ennis, Helen & National Library of Australia & National Portrait Gallery (Australia) (1996). The reflecting eye : portraits of Australian visual artists. National Library of Australia, Canberra.
  • Narkiewicz, Ewa (2000). 'Jack Cato's Melbourne: an interview with John Cato'. In La Trobe Journal. (65), 17-27.
  • Newton, G. (1980) Silver and Grey (Sydney)
  • Newton, G. (1993 ) ’Cato, John Cyril (Jack) (1889–1971)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 13, (MUP).
  • Professional Photography in Australia, 23, no 5, Aug-Sept 1971
  • Photofile, 4, no 1, Autumn 1986
  • The Great Lindt; a compilation based on research by Jack Cato, R. J. Barcham and Keast Burke. (1955-10-01). In Image. 4 (7), 54(1).

References

  1. ^ Narkiewicz, Ewa (2000). 'Jack Cato's Melbourne: an interview with John Cato'. In La Trobe Journal. (65), 17-27.
  2. ^ Murphy, Shane & Hurley, Frank, 1885-1962 (2000). Shackleton's photographer: the annotated diaries of Frank Hurley, expedition photographer, Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914-17 : a book (2nd electronic ed). Shane Murphy, Scottsdale, AZ
  3. ^ “Mr Cato started by telling the members all about his experiences and engagements both in England and Africa and finally dealt with his tour right to Northern Rhodesia, made as photographer to Professor Cory, who has made a special study of the native races of the African continent.” SAVAGE SOUTH AFRICA. (1923, June 18). The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), p. 3
  4. ^ HOBART PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION. (1923, August 31). The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), p. 8.
  5. ^ “At their weekly gathering yesterday members of , the Hobart Rotary Club bade farewell to Rotarian Jack Cato, the representative of. the photographic profession in the club, who is leaving Hobart for Melbourne and starting a new business there.” PERSONAL. (1927, August 4). The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), p. 6.
  6. ^ DAME NELLIE MELBA OPENS SHOW. (1927, October 7). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 13.
  7. ^ “He was also a singer, he loved the stage. I think that was more behind Jack Cato than anything: he was a performer, he loved performing, during the African years he was a member of a Pierrot troupe.” Narkiewicz, Ewa (2000). 'Jack Cato's Melbourne: an interview with John Cato'. In La Trobe Journal. (65), 17-27.
  8. ^ “JACK CATO, photographer and raconteur, who, not long ago, produced a most readable book of reminiscences…” Clive Turnbull, in Portrait of A City. (1949, October 15). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 10.
  9. ^ "TABLE TALK ANNUAL". (1929, October 30). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), p. 24.
  10. ^ Arthur Streeton reviews “an exhibition of photographs by Mr. Jack Cato opened at the Athenaeum Gallery bv the Prime Minister (Mr. Lyons)”; ART PHOTOGRAPHS. (1932, May 31). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 8.
  11. ^ Reviewed: “Tale Of A Cameraman.” (1947, November 22). The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), p. 4
  12. ^ He Takes It!. (1951, May 4). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 10 Supplement: The Argus Week-End Magazine.
  13. ^ reviewed by Clive Turnbull, in Portrait of A City. (1949, October 15). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 10.
  14. ^ “It is unlikely that new research will alter substantially the outlines of the story which Cato set down, although these might be filled in by pursuing more material outside the Sydney-Melbourne axis.” Humphrey McQueen in THE STORY BEHIND THE LENS. (1977, November 5). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 12.
  15. ^ Narkiewicz, Ewa (2000). 'Jack Cato's Melbourne: an interview with John Cato'. In La Trobe Journal. (65), 17-27.
  16. ^ EXHIBITIONS AT ART GALLERY. (1938, December 14). Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954), p. 3 Edition: LATEST NEWS EDITION and DAILY.
  17. ^ “RARE DISPLAY OF PHOTOS Fine Exhibition at Museum An outstanding one-man exhibition of photographic studies by Mr. Jack Cato, F.R.P.S., of Melbourne, will be on view at the art gallery of the Queen Victoria Museum today. This is the second of a series of temporary exhibitions recently inaugurated at the art gallery, and will be open until December 16. The first exhibition, consisting of nine early sketches and drawings lent by Mr. H. S. East, will also remain on view till that date. Mr. Cato, who lived in Hobart for some years, is at present one of the best known photographers in Melbourne, and his exhibition is probably the finest ever seen in Launceston. It consists of 35 photographs; portraits in monochrome, colour, and tone prints, landscapes, seascapes, and commercial art. It is difficult to select any one photograph from the display, as all are almost perfect examples of the photographer's art. Photographs of Charles Wheeler and Arthur Streeton, among the best known of Australian artists, are out standing, and there are a number of exquisite examples of hand tinting and two fine paper negatives. All the photographs were taken in Australia, England and Africa, and the work was done entirely on Australian-made paper and plates. The display is being exhibited by courtesy of Kodak (Australasia) Ply. Ltd.” RARE DISPLAY OF PHOTOS. (1938, December 2). Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954), p. 7 Edition: LATEST NEWS EDITION and DAILY.
  18. ^ CAMERA STUDIES. (1936, October 29). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 4.
  19. ^ AWARDS TO PHOTOGRAPHERS. (1934, November 15). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 5
  20. ^ reviewed by Harold Herbert in ‘ART’ (1932, June 11). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), p. 14.
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