A. C. Habbe
{{Short description|Danish-born artist in Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
File:Alexander_Christian_Habbe.png
Alexander Christian Habbe (22 April 1829 – 14 April 1896){{Cite web|title=Alexander Habe|url=https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/404815|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-03|website=AusStage|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831045514/http://ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/404815 |archive-date=2016-08-31 }} was a Danish-born artist in Australia, known for his scene paintings for major theatres in Sydney and Melbourne.
History
Habbe was born in Copenhagen and saw action in the first First Schleswig War of 1848, when Denmark attempted to annexe Holstein. He was severely injured in the fighting, and was nearly two years in a military hospital. In 1855, he left with his older brother, the painter Nicholas Francis Habbe (10 April 1827 – 11 November 1889){{cite web|url=https://www.daao.org.au/bio/version_history/nicholas-habbe/biography/?p=1&revision_no=18 |title=Nicholas Habbe b. 10 April 1827 |publisher=Design and Art Australia Online |access-date=2 October 2021}} for Victoria, where the goldfields were being overrun by hopeful miners.
He had no luck, but found employment with the canvas theatres of Ballarat: Tom Hetherington's Theatre Royal{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article208878724 |title=The Eureka Anniversary |newspaper=The Ballarat Star |volume=50 |issue=15160 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=6 December 1904 |access-date=28 May 2023 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}} and the Charlie Napier and Montezuma theatres, painting scenery and backdrops for the various burlesques and plays that provided entertainment for the diggers and their families. Stage scenery was taken seriously by critics and audiences, and the artist was often credited alongside the actors.
In 1858 he was employed by George Coppin, to paint scenes for the comedy An Unequal Match at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne.
One of his first assignments in Melbourne was in April 1859 alongside William Pitt and W. J. Wilson, painting scenes for J. R. Planche's The Yellow Dwarf, directed by Fred Younge, at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne.
In 1860 he was in Sydney at the Victoria Theatre in Pitt-street, and afterwards at the Prince of Wales Opera House{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article238697353 |title=Personal |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) |issue=5248 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=15 April 1896 |accessdate=2 October 2021 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}} and the Queen's Theatre, then in 1865 left for Melbourne, where he worked for the opera impresario W. S. Lyster.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article241295649 |title=Left the Scene |newspaper=The Herald |issue=4913 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=14 April 1896 |accessdate=2 October 2021 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}
His work for the 1880 production of La Fille du Tambour-major at the Melbourne Opera House was highly regarded. He was also associated with George Gordon, of the Princess's Theatre, for many years.
His last notable work was for George Rignold's Henry V, also at the Melbourne Opera House. One critic thought Habbe "not exactly of the calibre of Gordon, Goatcher, Brunton, or Hennings, but did good work".{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article39632101 |title=Music & the Drama |newspaper=Launceston Examiner |volume=LVI |issue=99 |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=25 April 1896 |accessdate=2 October 2021 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}
He died after some months' suffering from cancer of an internal organ, which he bore with patience and courage. In life he had been called "Crabby Habbe" on account of his cynical disposition, but one biographer said that "like a crab-apple, he was all harshness outside, but a good deal of sweetness within".{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article145919873 |title=On and Off the Stage |newspaper=Table Talk |issue=564 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=17 April 1896 |accessdate=2 October 2021 |page=13 |via=National Library of Australia}}
Another held that he "possessed a great fund of dry humor, and quiet sarcasm, which made him a most entertaining companion". He never married.
His brother{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63622325 |title=Art and Literary Notes |newspaper=Illustrated Sydney News |volume=XXVI |issue=18 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=28 November 1889 |accessdate=2 October 2021 |page=27 |via=National Library of Australia}} and mother{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13597294 |title=Family Notices |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |issue=14,804 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=5 September 1885 |accessdate=2 October 2021 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}} both died in Sydney.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article238697353 |title=Personal |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |issue=5248 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=15 April 1896 |accessdate=2 October 2021 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}
Other scene painters of Australia
References
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Category:19th-century Australian painters