WC Piguenit
(Australia 27 Aug 1836–17 Jul 1914)
- Title
- The Upper Nepean
- Other titles:
- The Upper Nepean, N.S.W. [Royal Society of Artists]
- Year
- (1889)
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
-
91.0 x 129.9cm stretcher
- Signature & date
- Signed l.l., black oil "W.C. Piguenit". Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1889
- Accession number
- 5934
- Location
- 19th c Australian art
- Further information
Piguenit's parents were born in England, his father being of French ancestry, but he was one of the earliest professional painters with a completely Australian background. Born in Hobart, Tasmania, he was mainly self taught, taking his models from the European romanitc school which focussed on motifs of heavy grandeur. His work is closely related to that of emigre Australian artists, Eugene fon Guerard and Nicholas Chevalier.
Piguenit joined the Tasmanian Lands Department in 1850 and finally chose to become a full-time painter in 1873. He then moved to Sydney where he gained favourable support from the newly formed Art Gallery of New South Wales, and in fact was the first artist whose work was acquired by it, in 1875.
Considering its date, 'The Upper Nepean' does not comply with the image of landscape that was then the most important expression of its time in Australian art. It reflects not only a European romantic inheritance, but also a sense of curiouslity and awe that typifies Australian landscape art preceding the first consolidation of a national school in the later 1880s. However, the subject is a very real part of Australia and recalls in its vision, Piguenit's earlier experience of the waters, mountains and atmosphere of Tasmania.
Barry Pearce, in Bernice Murphy (ed.), 'USSR: Old master paintings', AGDC, Sydney, 1979
- Bibliography (33)
-
Simon Gregg (Author), New romantics: darkness and light in Australian art, North Melbourne, 2011, 106, 108 (colour illus.).
'Organisation of the New South Wales display in Chicago', pg.18-45., Selling a nation: Australian artists at International Exhibitions [M.A., University of Sydney] 2001, 2001, between 24-25 (colour illus.), 25, 26, 27, 52. figure no. 10
Elizabeth Johns (Author), Andrew Sayers (Australia, b.1957) (Author), Elizabeth Kornhauser (Author), Amy Ellis (Author), Patrick McCaughey (Northern Ireland; Australia, b.1943) (Author), Peter Sutton (Author), Brian Kennedy (Author), New Worlds From Old, Parkes, 1997, 163 (colour illus.). cat.no. 71
Christa Johannes (Australia) (Author), Tony Brown (Australia) (Author), W.C. Piguenit 1836-1914: retrospective, Hobart, 1992, 52 (colour illus.) 101, 103. cat.no. 24
Bernard Smith (Australia, b.1916, d.2011) (Author), Terry Smith (Author), Australian painting 1788-1990, South Melbourne, 1991, 53 (colour illus.), 59-60. plate no. 38
Annabel Davie (Editor), Art Gallery of New South Wales Handbook, Domain, 1988, 16.
Deborah Edwards (Australia) (Author), Two centuries of Australian painting: a selection from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, New South Wales, 1986, 20 (illus.). cat.no. 8
'The wilderness intact', pg. 81-86., Images in opposition: Australian landscape painting 1801-1890 1985, 1985, 84, 85 (illus.), 177.
Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), A century of Australian landscape: mood and moment, Sydney, 1983, 14, 29 (colour illus.). cat.no. 12
Hugh Speirs (Author), Manning Clark (Author), John Olsen (Australia; England; Spain; Portugal, b.1928) (Author), Landscape art and the Blue Mountains, Australia, 1981, 100 (illus.).
Australian Gallery Directors Council (Australia), Old master paintings from the USSR: A survey of four centuries of European art. Report, Sydney, 1979, (illus.). cat.no. 55
Elwyn Lynn (Australia, b.1917, d.1997) (Author), The Australian landscape and its artists, Rushcutters Bay, 1977, 36, 38 (colour illus.).
Frances McCarthy (Australia) (Author), Ian North (New Zealand; Australia, b.1945) (Author), Daniel Thomas (Author), Australian landscape 1802-1975, Adelaide, 1972. cat.no. 18; not shown in Adelaide [replaced by Tom Roberts work from NGV]
Art Gallery of South Australia (Australia, estab. 1881) (Author), The Australian landscape, Adelaide, 1972. cat.no. 18
'William Charles Piquenit' by Ken Sheldrick, Antiques and art Australasia 22 Dec 1970, 22 Dec 1970, 10 (illus.).
James Gleeson (Australia, b.1915, d.2008) (Author), John Henshaw (New Zealand; Australia, b.1929, d.2006) (Editor), Masterpieces of Australian painting, Melbourne, 1969, 45 (colour illus.). plate no. 7
Bernard Smith (Australia, b.1916, d.2011) (Author), A catalogue of Australian oil paintings in the National Art Gallery of New South Wales 1875-1952, Sydney, 1953, 162.
National Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874) (Author), Catalogue of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales 1899, Sydney, 1899. cat.no. 270, Oil Paintings-Australian
Mercury 07 Oct 1895, 07 Oct 1895, page unknown.
The Sydney Morning Herald 25 May 1895, 25 May 1895, page unknown.
Daily telegraph 22 Jul 1893, 22 Jul 1893, page unknown.
'Pictures by Australian artists: Some have real artistic merit and the collection is credible', pg. 9., Chicago Daily Tribune 08 Jun 1893, 08 Jun 1893, 9.
National Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874) (Author), Catalogue of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales 1893, Sydney, 1893, 107. cat.no. 367, Loan collection to Commissioners of the Chicago Exposition
Hubert Howe Bancroft (Australia, b.1832, d.1918) (Author), The book of the fair; an historical and descriptive presentation of the world's science, art, and industry, as viewed through the Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893, Chicago, 1893, 728.
National Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874) (Author), Catalogue of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales 1891, Sydney, 1891, 66. cat.no. 227, Australian Court
'The Art Gallery' by Vaurien, pg. 5., The Sydney Morning Herald 13 Dec 1890, 13 Dec 1890, 5. see curator's Worksheet
Bulletin 26 Oct 1889, 26 Oct 1889, page unknown.
Sydney mail and New South Wales advertiser 19 Oct 1889, 19 Oct 1889, reproduced as black and white woodcut.
Illustrated Sydney News 17 Oct 1889, 17 Oct 1889, reproduced as black and white woodcut.
Sydney mail and New South Wales advertiser 12 Oct 1889, 12 Oct 1889, page unknown.
'The Art Society's Exhibition', pg. 4., The Sydney Morning Herald 04 Oct 1889, 04 Oct 1889, 4. see curator's Worksheet
Royal Art Society of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1880) (Author), Art Society of New South Wales Spring Exhibition Catalogue (1889), Sydney, 1889, 6, 11 (illus.). cat.no. 17; titled 'The Upper Nepean, N.S.W.'; price £84.0.0
National Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874) (Author), Catalogue of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales 1888, Sydney, 1888. cat.no. 161, Oil Paintings, Titled 'The Upper Nepean, NSW'
- Exhibition history (21)
-
Tenth Annual Exhibition of the Art Society of New South Wales (1889), Society Rooms, Union Chambers, 1889 -.
World's Columbian Exposition, 1893, Jackson Park, Chicago, 01 May 1893–30 Oct 1893.
The Australian Landscape (1972-73), Art Gallery of Western Australia, 04 May 1972–04 Jun 1972.
The Australian Landscape (1972-73), National Gallery of Victoria [St Kilda Road], 04 Jul 1972–04 Aug 1972.
The Australian Landscape (1972-73), Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, 05 Sep 1972–01 Oct 1972.
The Australian Landscape (1972-73), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 14 Nov 1972–17 Dec 1972.
The Australian Landscape (1972-73), Newcastle Region Art Gallery, 17 Jan 1973–11 Feb 1973.
The Australian Landscape (1972-73), Queensland Art Gallery, 01 Mar 1973–01 Apr 1973.
European masters and Australian painting from Australian collections, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, 02 Oct 1979 -.
European masters and Australian painting from Australian collections, State Hermitage Museum, 04 Dec 1979 -.
Samuel Elyard (1817-1910): Landscape painter and photographer, S.H. Ervin Gallery, 01 Jul 1982–08 Aug 1982.
A century of Australian landscape painting: mood and moment, Peking Art Gallery, Oct 1983–Dec 1983.
A century of Australian landscape painting: mood and moment, Shanghai Art Gallery, Oct 1983–Dec 1983.
Two centuries of Australian painting, a selection from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Orange Regional Gallery, 19 Apr 1986–15 Jun 1986.
W.C. Piguenit 1836-1914, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, 16 Dec 1992–14 Feb 1993.
W.C. Piguenit 1836-1914, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 10 Mar 1993–25 Apr 1993.
W.C. Piguenit 1836-1914, Art Gallery of Western Australia, 13 May 1993–04 Jul 1993.
Imagining the West: the first hundred years - the 1790s to 1890s, Lewers Bequest and Penrith Regional Art Gallery, 28 Oct 1994–22 Jan 1995.
New Worlds From Old: Australian and American Landscape Painting in the Nineteenth Century, National Gallery of Australia, 07 Mar 1998–17 May 1998.
New Worlds From Old: Australian and American Landscape Painting in the Nineteenth Century, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 12 Sep 1998–06 Dec 1998.
New Worlds From Old: Australian and American Landscape Painting in the Nineteenth Century, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, 26 Jan 1999–18 Apr 1999.
