[1] After four years at sea as a ship's engineer, he settled in London in 1884,[1] where he began painting professionally as well as teaching.

[1] During this time, he also became a trustee of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales and served as vice-president from 1919 until his death.

In 1898 he had a successful showing at the Exhibition of Australian Art in the Grafton Galleries, London.

He was struck by a taxi cab driver in Mosman; suffering severe head injuries from which he died a few hours later.

[1][2] In his obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald they made note of the fact that the driver was a woman.