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| ARTIST: | Laurence William Wilson |
| DATES: | New Zealand 1850 - 1912 |
| TITLE: | Lake Manapouri |
| MEDIUM: | Oil on canvas |
| SIZE: | 31 x 46 cm |
| REMARKS: | Signed, inscribed & dated 1887 |
| $NZ: | Category D |
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Laurence William WILSON New Zealand 1850 - 1912 A member of the Ellerham Wilson shipping family, Laurence Wilson was born and raised in Dover. In 1864 he witnessed two ships fighting in the Channel and after the sinking of one, made a drawing of the other while it was being repaired at Dover. Wilson studied art in London under N. E. Green, author of Handbook on Landscape. The artist emigrated to New Zealand and was established in Auckland by October 1877, when he was renting Mr. Gisborne's house in Parnell; in 1878 he is listed as an Oamaru artist in a Wise's publication. In 1884 he was in Dunedin and listed in Stone's Directory. There he established a highly successful career as an artist and teacher, and was Vice President of the Otago Art Society from 1884 to 1904. He took pupils, including O'Keefe, became a painting companion of George O'Brien, and shared a studio with Nerli. Wilson was a fairly prolific and extremely competent painter whose best works are of the highest standard. He painted both in oils and watercolours but is perhaps best remembered for the latter; perhaps because of the number he produced, rather than the difference in quality. His work was represented in the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition of 1889-90, and included in the 1940 Centennial Exhibition. Some of his paintings of Canterbury were sent by arrangement to Ruskin, who was so impressed he insisted upon paying twice the agreed amount. Indeed, Wilson was particularly fascinated by the beauty and variety of the Southern scenery, and became one of the foremost landscape artists of the period to represent the grandeur of the southern lakes and mountains, achieving prices as high as £35 for some of the more substantial oils. Lake Manapouri and Mt. Cook from the Hooker River are eminent examples of Wilson’s work, which reflect his concern with "capturing nature in her most beautiful moods" and are notable for their skilful representation of atmospheric effects. In 1904 Wilson left Dunedin for Melbourne, where he spent five months painting a commissioned work of the city before he set out for England, returning via India and Africa. His paintings continued to sell well, although the Wilson family money contributed to his purse in considerable way. Whenever a member of the family would die Wilson would receive a legacy; it is said that he got through 11,000 pounds in two years by buying two racehorses! Wilson's works are today highly collectible and appear in many museums, major art galleries and private collections around New Zealand including the Alexander Turnbull Library, the Canterbury Museum and the Hocken Library. |
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| Jonathan Grant Galleries Ltd 280 Parnell Rd, Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand. Telephone +64-9-308 9125 Email jonathan@jgg.co.nz |
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