James S. Stening
James Sydney Stening was an Australian photographer who was born in 1870 in Sydney. He was then later trained to be a jeweller. Stening's first employment was with Fairfax and Roberts Jewellers, which he decided to stay with until retirement in his older age.
Also recorded as James Sydney Stening
James S. Stening
Harold Cazneaux · Public domain
- Name
- James Sydney Stening
- Born
- 1870
- Birthplace
- Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Died
- 16 September 1953
- Nationality
- Australia
- Occupation
- photographer
- Languages
- English
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q19879513 · wikipedia · James S. Stening
In this article
Biography
Biography
He died on 16 September 1953.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — James Sydney Stening • Born — 1870 • Birthplace — Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Died — 16 September 1953
Exhibitions
Exhibitions
• Shortening Shadows, Bracken Time, Born to Toil, Days Work Nearly Done and The Edge of the Common featured in an exhibition by The Photographic Society of New South Wales in 1903. • The Stock Route, The Pioneer, A Summer Fantasy, White Sails, The King's Highway, The Turpentines, Harvesting the Golden Grain, Eucalypts, Morning, Bringing Them In, E'en Shades, and Born to Toil featured in an exhibition by The Photographic Society of New South Wales in 1917. • The Stock Route, and A Summer Fantasy were featured in an exhibition by The Photographic Society of New South Wales in 1922. • The Edge of The Common was featured in the S.H. Ervin Gallery in Sydney from 12 June 1979 to 8 July 1979, The Victorian College of the Arts Gallery in Southbank from 8 August 1979 to 31 August 1979, Art Gallery of South Australia in Adelaide from 1 December 1979 to 30 January 1980, and in Soft Shadows and Sharp Lines: Australian photography from Cazneaux to Dupain, Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney from 30 September 2002 to 17 November 2002. • Untitled (Treescape) was featured in the S.H. Ervin Gallery in Sydney from 12 June 1979 to 8 July 1979, The Victorian College of the Arts Gallery in Southbank from 8 August 1979 to 31 August 1979, and in the Art Gallery of South Australia in Adelaide from 1 December 1979 to 30 January 1980.
Photography
In the early 1890s Stening started practising photography. A few years later in 1894, he was one of the founding members of the Photographic Society of New South Wales, then later in 1916 he became involved with the Sydney Camera Circle. Also, in 1909, Stening assisted Harold Cazneaux with him arguably making Cazneaux's first exhibition possible. Stening also was involved with the Ashfield District Camera Club which consisted of his friends Norman Deck, Henri Mallard and Frank Hurley. His style of photography was focused on finely detailed landscapes which he gained inspiration from off Norman Deck, with a liking more to the tones of platinum printing papers. Stening occasionally delved into impressionistic soft-focus photographs printed on bromide paper. In an exhibition in 1907 at the Art Gallery of NSW which included Stening's work, one of the comments made by the reviewer was ‘what wonderful strides have been made in the art of the camera, when manipulated by an artist, and how closely the modern photographer is getting to pure pictorial representation’ 1920, he chose to leave all photographic societies. Despite this, Stening took on new technology in the form of a 35mm Leica camera which was released in 1925, continuing his photography practise for some time after this. The Art Gallery of New South Wales later received a donation of his negatives from Norman Deck.
Collections
Collections
Stening's work is featured in the National Gallery of Australia, and also in the Art Gallery of New South Wales. • Illustration — On the Edge of the Common - James S Stening circa 1900 • Illustration — Droving Cattle - James S Stening circa 1903-1910
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “James S. Stening”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q19879513: James S. Stening
General reference · Wikidata
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article James S. Stening, revision 1369334352 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Angus & Robertson Publishers. Silver and Grey: Fifty Years of Australian Photography 1900-1950. 1980. 0207141096.
- 2.Art Gallery of New South Wales. Untitled (Clump of Gum Trees) (circa 1920) by James S Stening :: The Collection :: Art Gallery NSW.
- 3.NGA Site Search. National Gallery of Australia.
- 4.Works matching "James Stening" :: The Collection :: Art Gallery NSW. Art Gallery New South Wales.
- 5.Photographic Society of New South Wales.
- 6.Photographic Society of New South Wales.
- 7.Photographic Society of New South Wales.
- 8.Art Gallery NSW. On the Edge of the Common, (circa 1900) by James S Stening :: The Collection :: Art Gallery NSW.
- 9.Untitled (Treescape), (circa 1920) by James S Stening :: The Collection :: Art Gallery NSW. Art Gallery NSW.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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