Minchen, Edward William (1852 - 1913)

Born in Perth in 1852, died 5 October 1913 at Sydney Sanitarium, Wahroonga, NSW.

Edward Minchin was born in Perth and moved to Melbourne when young. He worked at various jobs, including going to sea for a few years, before attending National Art Gallery classes under Clarke and Folinsky. Minchin gained a position as a lithographic artist with the Melbourne Lands Department in 1874.

When he moved to New South Wales he worked as a draftsman in the Survey Office from 1879. He transferred to the Government Printer as a lithographic artist in 1894. While there he did work for several scientists, including Maiden. His original paintings and botanical illustrations are very fine examples of draftsmanship.

Source: Hewson, Helen (1999) Australia: 300 Years of Botanical Illustration, CSIRO Press
Pers. com. email, Tony Minchin, descendant, 8.10.2011, 19.10.2011