John Gully
Aotearoa New Zealand / British, b.1819, d.1888
Lake Wakatipu
- 1877
- Watercolour
- Gift of Cyril and Jane Smith, 2014
- 1300 x 1820mm
- 2014/066
- View on google maps
Location: Sir Robertson and Lady Stewart Gallery
Tags: lakes (bodies of water), landscapes (representations), mountains, natural landscapes, people (agents), snow (precipitation), trees
Whakatipu-wai-Māori Lake Whakatipu provided both permanent settlement sites and seasonal campsites for Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe and Kāi Tahu iwi across many centuries. From the northern head of the lake, inaka and kōkōtakiwai pounamu was gathered and carried back to coastal settlements to be crafted into tools, adornments and weapons. In 1877, watercolourist John Gully left his role as chief draughtsman at the provincial survey office in Whakatū Nelson to paint full-time, starting with a month-long southern sketching tour that included Piopiotahi Milford Sound and Whakatipu-wai-Māori.
Waitaha ~ tribal group that occupied much of Te Waipounamu South Island before they were displaced by Kāti Māmoe
Kāti Māmoe ~ tribal group that was largely replaced by Kāi Tahu through intermarriage and conquest
Kāi Tahu ~ tribal group of much of Te Waipounamu South Island
iwi ~ tribes
inaka ~ a whitish or creamy-coloured variety of greenstone
kōkōtakiwai ~ a soft and brittle variety of greenstone with streaks of white
pounamu ~ greenstone
He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of Soil (from August 2024)
Exhibition History
In 1877, John Gully retired from his role as chief draughtsman in the Nelson Survey Office and took a month-long sketching tour of Wanaka, Milford Sound, Wakatipu and Manapouri. A year later, when he exhibited his new watercolours, he was commended by the Nelson Evening Mail for “two large watercolour paintings, the latest, and, to our mind, the best of the many that have been produced from the studio of that now celebrated artist... These represented Milford Sound and Lake Wakatipu… two nobler pictures it would be difficult to find.”
(Our Collection: 19th and 20th Century New Zealand Art, 2018)
John Gully, reaching retirement from his role as chief draughtsman in the Nelson Survey Office, took a month’s leave in 1877 for a sketching tour of Wanaka, Milford Sound, Wakatipu and Manapouri. Exhibiting his new watercolours in 1878, he was commended by the Nelson Evening Mail for “two large watercolour paintings, the latest, and, to our mind, the best of the many that have been produced from the studio of that now celebrated artist... These represented Milford Sound and Lake Wakatipu… two nobler pictures it would be difficult to find”. (2017)
This major work was presented to the Gallery in memory of the prominent Christchurch businessman Cyril Smith (1915–2014) by his wife Jane.
Related reading: Treasury: a generous legacy
Notes
Study (Woman in a wide black hat) by Raymond McIntyre
This article first appeared as 'The Muse' in The Press on 25 August 2015.
Notes
Still life with flowers in a basket by Pieter Hardimé
This article first appeared as 'Allegory of life's beauty, brevity and fragility' in The Press on 15 August 2014.
Notes
Untitled by Meindert Hobbema
This article first appeared as 'Dutch treat' in The Press on 12 April 2013.
Notes
Angels and Aristocrats
Blair Jackson and I attended the opening of Angels & Aristocrats at Dunedin Public Art Gallery on Friday 27 April. It's spectacular.
Notes
Taking Stock
It's hard to believe, but only eighteen collection works were damaged as a result of all earthquakes, with fourteen damaged on the 22 February 2011.
Notes
Belgian Refugees by Frances Hodgkins
This article first appeared in The Press on 28 February 2007
Belgian Refugees is one of the first oil paintings that Frances Hodgkins ever exhibited, although at the time she was already well accustomed to showing her watercolours. Working in oils and tempera on canvas, she used an experimental technique in this work that gained much from her experience with watercolour. Believed to have been first shown as Unshatterable, in October 1916 at the International Society's Autumn Exhibition in London, the choice of title would suggest a greater sense of resilience than is actually conveyed by this family group. Here only the baby is oblivious to trouble, while his nursing mother seems devoid of expression, and the older children tense with anxiety or fear. Behind the group, a gap in the swirling grey suggests the fact of a missing father, and this steam and smoke speaks of displacement, the atmospheric backdrop of a train station or the symbolic clouds of war. Within the wall of monochrome, intense colour is reserved for mother and child, who also remind of one of Hodgkins' favourite early choices of subject matter in watercolour.
Article
Trove
Recounting the untold stories behind some of the works in the exhibition Treasury: A Generous Legacy, curator Ken Hall also underlines the value of art philanthropy.
Commentary
The wisdom of crowds
In recent years, crowdfunding and crowdsourcing have become big news in the arts. By providing a funding model that enables would-be-investors to become involved in the production of new works, they have altered traditional models of patronage. Musicians, designers, dancers and visual artists are inviting the public to finance their projects via the internet. The public are also being asked to provide wealth in the form of cultural capital through crowdsourcing projects. The Gallery has been involved in two online crowdfunding ventures – a project with a public art focus around our 10th birthday celebrations, and the purchase of a major sculpture for the city. But, although these projects have been made possible by the internet, the concept behind the funding model is certainly not new. The rise of online crowdfunding platforms also raises important questions about the role of the state in the funding and generation of artwork, and the democratisation of tastemaking. How are models of supply and demand affected? Does the freedom from more traditional funding models allow greater innovation? Do 'serious' artists even ask for money? It's a big topic, and one that is undoubtedly shaping up in PhD theses around the world already. Bulletin asked a few commentators for their thoughts on the matter.
Article
The East India Company man: Brigadier-General Alexander Walker
Getting to know people can take time. While preparing for a future exhibition of early portraits from the collection, I'm becoming acquainted with Alexander Walker, and finding him a rewarding subject. Painted in 1819 by the leading Scottish portraitist of his day, Sir Henry Raeburn, Walker's portrait is wrought with Raeburn's characteristic blend of painterly vigour and attentive care and conveys the impression of a well-captured likeness.