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An image of Natives on the Ouse River, Van Diemen's Land by John Glover

John Glover

(England, Australia 18 Feb 1767–09 Dec 1849)

Title
Natives on the Ouse River, Van Diemen's Land
Year
1838
Media category
Painting
Materials used
oil on canvas
Dimensions

78.0 x 115.6cm stretcher; 106.0 x 143.5 x 14cm frame

Signature & date
Signed and dated l.l. verso, pen and black ink ".../ J. Glover 1838".
Credit
Purchased with assistance from Mr and Mrs J K Bain 1985
Accession number
48.1985
Location
19th c Australian art
Further information

John Glover was already an established artist when he emigrated to Tasmania in 1831 at the age of 64. A highly successful watercolourist and painter of Arcadian views in the tradition of French landscapist Claude Lorrain, Glover quickly adapted his picturesque style and luminous technique to his new surrounds.

One of his most subjective works, this painting is informed by European notions of an Antipodean Arcadia, with Indigenous people living in a landscape unsullied by European contact. However, ‘Natives on the Ouse River’ stands in marked contrast to the actual situation of the traditional owners of Ouse River country - the Braylwunyer people of the Big River nation - which was one of dispossession and violence at the hands of the colonists.

Bibliography (31)

‘New Australia’ by Wayne Tunnicliffe and Deborah Edwards, pg. 24-27., Look May 2012, May 2012, 25.

‘Barry Pearce’s next book-call it “segueing with intent”’ by Jill Sykes, pg. 28-29., Look Mar 2012, Mar 2012, 28 (colour illus.), 29.

'A question of balance: How it is bringing changes to the old courts and beyond' by Barry Pearce, pg. 28-29., Look Sep 2009, Sep 2009, 29 (colour illus.).

'Seeing art takes more than looking: Audio description tours now at the Gallery' by Laura Pia, pg. 12-13., Look Jul 2009, Jul 2009, 13.

Edmund Capon (England; Australia, b.1940) (Author), I blame Duchamp: my life's adventures in art, Surry Hills, 2009, 328.

David Hansen (Australia, b.1958) (Author), John Glover and the Colonial Picturesque, Hobart, 2003, 223 (colour illus.), 242 (colour illus. of verso of canvas), 243. titled 'Natives on the Ouse River, Van Diemen's Land'; dated 1838

'The big idyll' by Bruce James, pg. 12-13 (Spectrum), The Sydney Morning Herald 12 May 2001-13 May 2001, 12 May 2001-13 May 2001, 12, 13 (colour illus.). NOTE: this article appears in Spectrum, pg. 12-13.

'Colonial perspective' by Vivienne Webb, pg. 22-23., Look Apr 2001, Apr 2001, 22 (colour illus.), 23.

Vivienne Webb (Australia) (Author), Australian Collection Focus: John Glover Natives on the Ouse River, Van Diemen's Land 1838, Domain, 2001, front cover (colour illus., detail), 2-4, 5 (colour illus.), 6-8.

'Image and identity: the perennial question of Australian identity features in the Gallery's 2001 lecture series' by Ursula Prunster, pg. 10-11., Look Dec 2000-Jan 2001, Dec 2000-Jan 2001, 11 (colour illus.).

'Olympians of Australian art' by Judith White, pg. 16-18., Look Jul 2000, Jul 2000, 17 (colour illus.).

Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Australian art: in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Domain, 2000, 18, 23 (colour illus.), 300.

Aspects of Australian art 2000, 2000, (colour illus.). card no. 1: John Glover 'Natives on the Ouse River, Van Diemen's Land' 1838

Bruce James (Australia) (Author), Edmund Capon (England; Australia, b.1940) (Director), Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, Domain, 1999, 104 (colour illus.).

Martin Thomas (Australia) (Author), Uncertain ground: essays between art + nature, Sydney, 1999, 129 (illus.), 130.

'Arcadia: Nineteenth Century Australian Photography' by Robyn Donohue, pg. 22-23., Look Oct 1998, Oct 1998, 23.

Louise Sweetland (Australia) (Editor), Edmund Capon (England; Australia, b.1940) (Author), Elizabeth Cross (Australia, b.1943) (Author), Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Southern Reflections: 10 contemporary Australian artists, Domain, 1998, 35 (colour illus.). fig.no. 3

Ewen McDonald (Australia) (Editor), The Art Gallery of New South Wales collections, Sydney, 1994, 10 (colour illus.).

Edmund Capon (England; Australia, b.1940) (Author), 10 Masterpieces of Australian Painting, Domain, 1993, (colour illus.).

David Malouf (Australia) (Author), Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Patricia McDonald (Author), Hetti Perkins (Australia) (Author), Art treasures: candidate citites for the 2000 Olympic Games: Beijing, Berlin, Brasilia, Istanbul, Manchester, Sydney, Lausanne, 1993, 160, 161 (colour illus.). cat.no. 1 Sydney

Annabel Davie (Editor), Art Gallery of New South Wales Handbook, Domain, 1988, 14-15 (colour illus.).

'Destruction & creation: The frontier'., Art & the West 1987, 1987, (colour illus.). AUS 2 card.

' An eye for Glover's nature' by Elwyn Lynn, The Australian 20 Oct 1986, 20 Oct 1986, 6.

'Masterpiece of poetic justice' by David Leser., The Australian 05 Nov 1985, 05 Nov 1985, page unknown (illus.). Article about purchase of work with b&s photograph of Curator of Australian Art, Barry Pearce, standing in front of painting

'Glover toast of gallery'., Daily telegraph 05 Nov 1985, 05 Nov 1985, page unknown (illus.). Article about purchase of work with b&s photograph of Curator of Australian Art, Barry Pearce, standing in front of painting

Art and Australia (Vol. 23, No. 2) Summer 1985, Summer 1985, 190 (colour illus.).

Alan McCulloch (Australia, b.1907, d.1992) (Author), Encyclopedia of Australian Art (Vol.1, A-K), Hawthorn East, 1984, (illus.). illus.no. 5

Terry Ingram (England; Australia, b.1942) (Author), A matter of taste: investing in Australian art, Sydney, 1976, (colour illus.). plate no. 3

'$2,000 per native - one way of pricing a Glover', pg. 36, 42., The Australian financial review 21 Mar 1974, 21 Mar 1974, 36.

'Cattle in a swamp - watershed in Australian taste'., The Australian financial review 14 Mar 1974, 14 Mar 1974, 30.

KR von Stieglitz (b.1893, d.1967) (Author), A history of Hamilton, Ouse and Gretna, Launceston, 1963, (illus.).

Exhibition history (6)

Bazaar and exhibition of pictures, Cornwell Assembly Rooms, 11 Mar 1851–26 Apr 1851.

Exhibition of works of art, Launceston Mechanics Institute, 09 Apr 1860–24 May 1860.

John Glover from the collection of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, The Little Gallery, 09 Jul 1971–30 Jul 1971.

Art Treasures of Olympic Cities, Lausanne Olympic Museum, 22 Jun 1993–03 Oct 1993.

Great gifts, great patrons, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 17 Aug 1994–19 Oct 1994.

Australian Collection Focus: John Glover Natives on the Ouse River, Van Diemen's Land 1838, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 01 Apr 2001–24 Jun 2001.