John Christie Wright was born in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1889. He studied at Gray's School of Art, Aberdeen from 1907 to September 1911, where the subjects he studied included 'Drawing from Life' and 'Modelling'. He moved to Australia in 1912. In 1915, Wright was awarded the Wynne Prize for Sculpture, and the following year, in February 1916, he was appointed Principal of the South Australian School of Art in Adelaide. On 26 April 1916, Wright joined the Australian imperial Force (AIF) and embarked from Sydney with his unit on 25 October 1916. He was killed in action in France on 2 May 1917.

 

‘The John Christie Wright Memorial Prize is awarded annually to an outstanding student working in Painting or Drawing and graduating from the Bachelor of Contemporary Art at the University of South Australia.’ A Memorial Fountain has also been erected in his honour in Macquarie Place Park, Sydney.

 

[Information courtesy of David Cossar, 2 June 2010]