Haughton Forrest (1826-1925) Australia
Lot 7
Mt Wellington From Howrah
c1890
Oil on canvas
72 x 113cm (sight) 100 x 140cm (fr)
Signed lower left
Provenance Acquired directly from artist; Private collection Hobart by descent five generations
Inscribed title verso
SOLD
Lot #7 - Haughton Forrest – Mt Wellington from Howrah
Haughton Forrest, like John Glover before him, was already mature in years when he made his way to Tasmania. In his earlier artistic career, he specialised in marine subjects around Plymouth, but for the next 50 years in Tasmania Forrest worked and established a considerable reputation as a painter of seascapes, shipwrecks, and mountain, river, and lake landscapes.
Born in Boulogne, France in 1826, his early married life was spent in England where he pursued a military career. Forrest visited South America in 1875, and after a brief return to England, set off with his family for Tasmania the following year. He briefly took up a civil position as superintendent of police at Sorell, but then proceeded to pursue a full-time artistic profession from his house in Cascades Road, South Hobart.
The artist’s Tasmanian oeuvre, as shown, is characterised by a high standard of finish as close attention to nautical, topographical, and botanical detail. He is well represented in public collections and examples have been included in recent major exhibitions of Australian art.
This painting Lot#7 Mount Wellington from Howrah, depicts the bluff between Bellerive Beach and Howrah Beach at the bottom of Wentworth St. It is a work that has been in a private collection, Hobart, for 5 generations.
The painting Haughton Forrest Hobart (1886) (Illust. 2), Oil on canvas, 86.4 x 183cm, a major example of his work, is held in the collection of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. This is a classic view from Bellerive looking across the Derwent to Hobart Town, with significant architectural period features and shipping traffic, following on the tradition of Knut Bull’s (1811-89) Hobart Town (1854) (Illust. 3), and Henry Gritten’s (1818-73) Hobart Town (1856) (Illust. 4).
Supporting Images
2) Haughton Forrest (1826-1925) – Hobart 1886
Oil on canvas 86.4 x 183cm
Collection: Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery
3) Knutt Bull (1811-89) – Hobart Town 1854
Oil on canvas
Collection: Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery
4) Henry Gritten (1818-73) – Hobart Town 1856
Oil on canvas
Collection: Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery
Condition Report
* All statements by Colville in the catalogue entry for the property or in the condition report, or made orally or in writing elsewhere, are statements of opinion and are not to be relied upon as statements of fact. Such statements do not constitute a representation, warranty or assumption of liability by Colville of any kind. References in the catalogue entry to the condition report to damage or restoration are for guidance only and should be evaluated by personal inspection by the bidder or a knowledgeable representative. The absence of such a reference does not imply that an item is free from defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of any others. Estimates of the selling price should not be relied on as a statement that this is the price at which the item will sell or its value for any other purpose. Neither Colville nor The Seller is responsible for any errors or omissions in the catalogue or any supplemental material.
Additional images
