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Lot Essay
For a similar view showing the same huts above the river with Mount Wellington beyond, see Prout's watercolour 'Mount Wellington, Hobarton', dated 11 November 1846 in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart.
John Skinner Prout and his large family left England for Australia in 1840. After settling in New South Wales, Prout and his family moved to Tasmania in January 1844 and settled here until their return to England in June 1848. During this time he made many sketching trips around Tasmania and produced two sets of lithographed views of the countryside, Tasmania Illustrated, published in 1844-45 and 1847. He was often accompanied on his sketching trips by local amateur artists, friends and family, many of whom feature in his pictures.
Prout's work changed over the years, as he moved away from direct topographical views to landscapes which combined disparate elements for effect. Later works indicate a leaning towards the romantic with the re-arrangement, exaggeration and addition of particular features.
Prout was profoundly impressed by the Tasmanian wilderness, as he records: 'Here then, ... we have at last reached a land of beauty such as the painter sees in his dreams and the poet sings in his verse. Of what need to go further my friends? Here let us cast anchor, and set up our tent. Let us send for our wives and our children, and relatives. Let us spend the rest of our days on this blissful shore.' (T. Brown, 'John Skinner Prout -- A Colonial Artist', in Considering Art in Tasmania, Sydney, 1985, p.521).
John Skinner Prout and his large family left England for Australia in 1840. After settling in New South Wales, Prout and his family moved to Tasmania in January 1844 and settled here until their return to England in June 1848. During this time he made many sketching trips around Tasmania and produced two sets of lithographed views of the countryside, Tasmania Illustrated, published in 1844-45 and 1847. He was often accompanied on his sketching trips by local amateur artists, friends and family, many of whom feature in his pictures.
Prout's work changed over the years, as he moved away from direct topographical views to landscapes which combined disparate elements for effect. Later works indicate a leaning towards the romantic with the re-arrangement, exaggeration and addition of particular features.
Prout was profoundly impressed by the Tasmanian wilderness, as he records: 'Here then, ... we have at last reached a land of beauty such as the painter sees in his dreams and the poet sings in his verse. Of what need to go further my friends? Here let us cast anchor, and set up our tent. Let us send for our wives and our children, and relatives. Let us spend the rest of our days on this blissful shore.' (T. Brown, 'John Skinner Prout -- A Colonial Artist', in Considering Art in Tasmania, Sydney, 1985, p.521).