Background
White was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, the son of Robert White, journeyman shipwright, and his wife Janet, née Dunn.
White was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, the son of Robert White, journeyman shipwright, and his wife Janet, née Dunn.
White was apprenticed to a plasterer and studied modelling at South Kensington.
White made anatomical models for hospitals in London. White came to Sydney around 1884 and worked for Achille Simonetti on the monument to Governor Arthur Phillip in Sydney Botanical Gardens. In spite of this long list White was by no means a distinguished sculptor.
White came to Australia when there were few sculptors there of ability, and it must be presumed that his sketch models were better than his finished works, as in later years he more than once obtained important commissions in competition with better mentor
White"s head of an Australian aboriginal is in the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. White died of cancer while visiting Brisbane and was buried in Toowong Cemetery.