Title

Rat's castle, Hobart

circa 1919

Artist

Blamire Young

Australia

1862 – 1935

Details

Other Title

Rat's Castle, Hobart

Date

circa 1919

Media category

Watercolour

Materials used

watercolour

Dimensions

46.7 x 59.2 cm sight; 67.0 x 78.0 x 4.0 cm frame

Signature & date

Not signed. Not dated.

Credit

Purchased 1923

Location

Not on display

Accession number

4825

Copyright

Reproduction requests

Artist information

Blamire Young
Works in the collection

12

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About

'Rat's castle' is one of the best-known watercolours in the Gallery's collection. The building stood on the corner of Elizabeth and Brisbane Streets, Hobart between 1820 and 1880 before it was demolished, well before Blamire Young's first visit to Tasmania in 1911-12, so it's probable inspiration was a photograph. It had served variously as a police office, place of worship and a school for young ladies, before eventually becoming a refuge for derelicts, when it earned the moniker 'Rat's castle'. The building's colourful history obviously appealed to Young's romantic imagination, and the watercolour is a portrait of a building as individual as any human portrait.

© Australian Art Department, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2000
Exhibition history
Shown in 14 exhibitions
- Watercolours by Blamire Young, Fine Art Society PLC, London, Oct 1920 -
- Exhibition of watercolour drawings, Joshua Yeldham, Bayview, 18 Jun 1923–30 Jun 1923
- 150 years of Australian art (1938), National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 27 Jan 1938–25 Apr 1938
- Art of Australia 1788-1941, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 01 Oct 1941–26 Oct 1941
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 17 Nov 1941–31 Dec 1941
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ottawa, 15 Jan 1942–15 Feb 1942
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Yale University Art Gallery, United States of America, 02 Mar 1942–23 Mar 1942
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 03 Apr 1942–15 May 1942
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Wilmington Society of Fine Arts, Wilmington, 01 Jun 1942–27 Jun 1942
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 10 Jul 1942–27 Aug 1942
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Toledo Museum of Art, United States of America, 06 Sep 1942–27 Sep 1942
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Rochester Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, 05 Oct 1942–02 Nov 1942
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Cleveland Museum of Art, United States of America, 09 Nov 1942–07 Dec 1942
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Detroit Institiute of Arts, Detroit, 01 Jan 1943–29 Jan 1943
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, The Art Gallery of Toronto, Toronto, 05 Feb 1943–28 Feb 1943
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Art Association of Montreal, Montreal, 07 Mar 1943–28 Mar 1943
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Herron Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indianapolis, 08 Apr 1943–05 May 1943
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Fort Wayne Art School and Museum, Fort Wayne, 12 May 1943–31 May 1943
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Rockhill Nelson Gallery, Kansas City, 07 Sep 1943–08 Oct 1943
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Philbrook Art Museum, Tulsa, 20 Oct 1943–17 Nov 1943
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Dallas, 28 Nov 1943–26 Dec 1943
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Abilene Museum of Fine Arts, Abilene, 10 Jan 1944–07 Feb 1944
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Heard Museum, Phoenix Fine Arts Association, Phoenix, 21 Feb 1944–20 Mar 1944
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, 04 Apr 1944–07 May 1944
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Rosicrucian Egyptian Oriental Museum, San Jose, 19 May 1944–16 Jun 1944
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Hamline University, St Paul, 01 Dec 1944–17 Dec 1944
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Society Liberal Arts, Joslyn Memorial, Omaha, 06 Jan 1945–27 Jan 1945
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, United States of America, 06 Feb 1945–27 Feb 1945
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Quincy Art Club, Quincy, 09 Mar 1945–30 Mar 1945
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, 13 Apr 1945–04 May 1945
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, University of Oklahoma, Norman, 14 May 1945–04 Jun 1945
  
  Art of Australia 1788-1941, North Texas State Teachers' College, Denton, 14 Jun 1945–05 Jul 1945
- Australian watercolours from the National Art Gallery collection 1836-1946, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 24 May 1946–Jun 1946
- An historical survey of Australian watercolour painting, Katoomba Town Hall, Katoomba, 06 Mar 1951–20 Mar 1951
  
  An historical survey of Australian watercolour painting, Lithgow Council Chambers, Lithgow, 03 Apr 1951–17 Apr 1951
  
  An historical survey of Australian watercolour painting, Cowra Town Hall, Cowra, 22 May 1951–05 Jun 1951
  
  An historical survey of Australian watercolour painting, Grenfell Council Chambers, Grenfell, 19 Jun 1951–03 Jul 1951
  
  An historical survey of Australian watercolour painting, Young Public Library, Young, 14 Aug 1951–28 Aug 1951
  
  An historical survey of Australian watercolour painting, Cootamundra Council Chambers, Cootamundra, 18 Sep 1951–02 Oct 1951
  
  An historical survey of Australian watercolour painting, Wagga Wagga Council Chambers, Wagga Wagga, 20 Oct 1951–30 Oct 1951
- Australian Watercolour Institute 50th Annual Exhibition (1973), Farmer's Blaxland Gallery, Sydney, 14 Sep 1973–28 Sep 1973
- The Australian Landscape 1802-1975, Cultural Palace of the Nationalities, Beijing, 02 Sep 1975–17 Sep 1975
  
  The Australian Landscape 1802-1975, Kiangsu Art Gallery, China, 23 Sep 1975–07 Oct 1975
  
  The Australian Landscape 1802-1975, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 14 Nov 1975–30 Nov 1975
- J.J. Hilder and Contemporaries, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 29 Aug 1981–04 Oct 1981
  
  J.J. Hilder and Contemporaries, Tamworth City Gallery, Tamworth, 04 Apr 1982–24 Apr 1982
  
  J.J. Hilder and Contemporaries, Newcastle Art Gallery, Newcastle, 06 May 1982–30 May 1982
  
  J.J. Hilder and Contemporaries, Wollongong Art Gallery, Wollongong, 02 Jun 1982–14 Jul 1982
  
  J.J. Hilder and Contemporaries, Albury Regional Gallery, Albury, 09 Sep 1982–26 Sep 1982
- The art of Blamire Young, S.H. Ervin Gallery, The Rocks, 04 Aug 1983–11 Sep 1983
  
  The art of Blamire Young, National Gallery of Victoria [St Kilda Road], Melbourne, 16 Sep 1983–16 Oct 1983
- Twentieth century Australian watercolours from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 05 Apr 1989–25 Jun 1989
- Australian watercolours 1880s to 1990s, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 18 Nov 1995–14 Jan 1996
  
  Australian watercolours 1880s to 1990s, Art Gallery of Ballarat, Ballarat, 1996–1996
  
  Australian watercolours 1880s to 1990s, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, 1996–1996
- Parallel Visions: Twenty-two artists from the Australian collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 22 Feb 2002–May 2003
- In search of the picturesque - the architectural ruin in art, Geelong Art Gallery, Geelong, 21 Apr 2011–24 Jun 2011
Bibliography
Referenced in 15 publications
- Jean Campbell, Australian watercolour painters: 1780 to the present day, 'The twentieth century to 1914', pg. 92-109, Sydney, 1989, 95 (colour illus.).
- Elly Fink, The art of Blamire Young, Sydney, 1983, 49 (colour illus.). plate no. 28
- Gavin Fry, Parallel visions: works from the Australian collection, 'J.J. Hilder / Blamire Young / Norman Lindsay', pg. 72-87, Sydney, 2002, 75, 79 (colour illus.), 146, 147.
- Colin Holden (Curator), In search of the picturesque– the achitectural ruin in art, Geelong, 2012, n.pag.. cat.no. 71
- Hendrik Kolenberg., Look, 'The art of Australian watercolour', Heidelberg, Apr 1989, 20 (colour illus.).
- Hendrik Kolenberg, Twentieth century Australian watercolours from the collection, Sydney, 1989, cover (colour illus.). cat.no. 83
- Hendrik Kolenberg, Australian watercolours 1880s to 1990s, 'Introduction: Painting in watercolour', pg. 8-16, Sydney, 1995, 12, 37 (colour illus.), 117. cat.no. 25
- Lionel Lindsay., Art in Australia [series 3, no. 70], 'Exhibition of 150 years of Australian Art', Sydney, Mar 1938, 45 (illus.).
- Lionel Lindsay, 150 years of Australian art, Sydney, 1938. cat.no. 362 [Gallery No. 4]
- Elwyn Lynn, The Australian landscape and its artists, Rushcutters Bay, 1977, 55 (colour illus.).
- Ewen McDonald, AGNSW Collections, 'From Colonialism to late Modernism', pg. 7-106, Sydney, 1994, 28, 29 (colour illus.).
- William Moore, The story of Australian art from the earliest known art of the continent to the art of today (Vol. 1), 'Galleries', pg. 179-214, Sydney, 1934, illus..
- Ursula Prunster and Edmund Capon AM, OBE, J.J. Hilder and contemporaries, Sydney, 1981, illus.. cat.no. 39
- Trustees of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australian watercolours from the National Art Gallery collection 1836 to 1946, Sydney, 1946, 10. cat.no. 25
- Sydney Ure Smith (Editor), Art of Australia 1788-1941, New York, 1941, 33, (illus.). cat.no. 40