# Henry Rayner

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Henry_Rayner
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Henry_Rayner.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Rayner
> Source revision: 1292567727
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Not to be confused with [Henry Raynor](/source/Henry_Raynor).

**Henry Rayner** (19 September 1902 – 25 April 1957) was an [Australian](/source/Australians) artist known for his [drypoint](/source/Drypoint) [etchings](/source/Etchings).[1][2] He produced more than 500 original drypoint works.[3]

## Biography

Hewitt Henry Rayner was born in [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne), [Australia](/source/Australia) and trained as an artist in Britain at London's Royal Academy schools.[3]

He was commonly known as Henry Rayner, the Australian artist born on September 19, 1902, in Hawthorn, Melbourne. He developed a keen interest in art at an early age, which led him to pursue formal training in Britain. After moving there in 1923, he trained under notable artists, including Walter Sickert, although he never completed his formal education at the Royal Academy Schools. Instead, he began his career as a printmaker, specializing in [drypoint etching](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG43199).

In 1928, he married and had two girls with his wife.[3]

In 1938, he sketched a self-portrait which is now in the [Royal Collection](/source/Royal_Collection).[4] Some of his other works are also in the collections of the [British Museum](/source/British_Museum) and the [Victoria and Albert Museum](/source/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum).[3]

He worked with [Walter Sickert](/source/Walter_Sickert) and was a friend of [Augustus John](/source/Augustus_John). He was injured during the [London blitz](/source/The_Blitz) and thereafter became something of a recluse.

He died on 25 April 1957, having committed [suicide](/source/Suicide) following a period of [depression](/source/Depression_(mood)).[3] He is buried on the eastern side of [Highgate Cemetery](/source/Highgate_Cemetery).

## References

1. Staton, Roger (2013). *An Australian Artist in London*. London: Pegasus Press. ISBN 978-0-9558160-1-7.

1. ["(Hewitt) Henry Rayner"](https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp12310/hewitt-henry-rayner). *National Portrait Gallery*. Retrieved 2025-05-25.

1. ["Hewitt Henry Rayner"](https://www.daao.org.au/bio/version_history/hewitt-henry-rayner/biography/?p=1&revision_no=22). *Design and Art Australia Online*. Retrieved 2025-05-25.

1. ["Rayner, (Hewitt) Henry (1902-1957)"](https://www.rct.uk/collection/812687/a-self-portrait). *Royal Collection Trust*. 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2025-05-25.

## External links

- [http://www.hewitthenryrayner.co.uk](http://www.hewitthenryrayner.co.uk)
- [https://twitter.com/etchingrevival/media](https://twitter.com/etchingrevival/media)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Henry Rayner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Rayner) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Rayner?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.