Places

Date: [ca 1860]

By: Barraud, Charles Decimus, 1822-1897; Trafford, Benjamin William Rawson, 1824?-1891

Reference: D-040-003

Description: Shows a scene on the Whanganui River. Shakespeare Cliff is prominent on the right, and Mount Ruapehu is visible in the distance. The Wanganui settlement is nestled into the hills in the middle ground, and the Rutland and York stockades are visible on the hill above the town. In the foreground is a group of Māori, comprising six adults or young adults, and one child, who would appear to be Pākehā. They are grouped as half standing, half being seated. There is much evidence of European clothing being worn by almost all the figures, with a woman on the right in full European dress complete with hat. The child in the group stands close to her and is possibly her own child, though his complexion is pale. The Māori man on the left has full facial tā moko, and holds the reins of a horse, which stands grazing. The horse would appear to belong to the woman in European dress, as it carries a side-saddle. The other man in the scene is dressed wearing a blanket and bare feet, and holds a kete, staff and eeling pot. Beyond the group can be seen the pallisades of Putiki Pā, beside which graze a half a dozen cattle. A number of vessels can be seen on the river, including a schooner and a double-sailed waka. The artist of this work is uncertain, after close comparison against works by other artists including John Alexander Gilfillan, Richard Aldworth Oliver, and Charles Decimus Barraud was undertaken. Benjamin Rawson Trafford has also been suggested as the artist, but no other work in watercolours by him is known for stylistic comparison. He was in Wanganui between ca 1847 and 1863 and had a Māori wife and child, possibly the subjects of this watercolour. He may also have been the earliest owner of the work and was the step-ancestor of the English vendor Other Titles - Whanganui. Benjamin William Rawson Trafford Quantity: 1 watercolour(s). Physical Description: Watercolour, pencil and Chinese white on paper, 482 x 713 mm Provenance: Prior to auction, in a private collection, England by descent from a step-ancestor, Benjamin Rawson Trafford, an early settler in Whanganui, to Lady Rosalind Bodington Processing information: Description updated 26 September 2023 following information provided by a staff member, as part of reparative description work.

Date: 1874

By: Barraud, Charles Decimus, 1822-1897

Reference: B-116-018

Description: View from the shore looking across Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake). In the foreground are a tent with a seated figure outside, three horses, a Maori and a European man. Two tall tree ferns are on the right Other Titles - Tiki Tapu Inscriptions: Recto - bottom left - C D B 1874. Also hand-written label in ink in the hand of the artist, on card attached to backing board: Tiki Tapu or the Blue Lake near Roto Kakahi. Label cut from earlier backing board Quantity: 1 watercolour(s). Physical Description: Watercolour and Chinese white, 249 x 357 mm (sight) Provenance: A note on the back, now discarded, indicated that the work was earlier put up for auction at the International Art Centre in May 1982. Art auction records indicate that a work with the same title was sold at Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 2 November 1981, lot 280 for AU $1,600.

Date: 1861

By: Barraud, Charles Decimus, 1822-1897

Reference: C-174-004

Description: Shows an identified house on the lower Terrace above Lambton Quay, being the house belonging to the Chief Postmaster in Wellington at the time, John Farr Hoggard (1815-1871). The house was built in 1856. There are other, single-story buildings along Lambton Quay, and rowboats pulled up to the water's edge. Two Maori are on foot to the left of the foreground. The boundary of Mr Hoggard's house is fenced. The surrounding bush and hill areas are untypically brown, for Wellington. In the foreground, riding along Lambton Quay, is a carriage pulled by two horses, carrying four people; the carriage is known to have belonged to William Barnard ('Barney') Rhodes, 1807-1878, and the carriage was distinctive for its yellow wheels. Rhodes was also known for his house 'The Grange', situated in Wadestown A copied example of this painting at G-644 by Edith Richardson, the sister-in-law of John Farr Hoggard. Another copy by John (Jack) Hoggard, son of John Farr Hoggard, is privately owned. The copy titled 'Lambton Quay 1854' is incorrect; it also suggests the location is the vicinity of R Hannah and Co's boot shop Other Titles - Lambton Quay, 1860 Inscriptions: Recto - bottom left - C D Barraud / NZ 1861 [in brushpoint] Quantity: 1 watercolour(s). Physical Description: Watercolour and Chinese white on paper, 325 x 430 mm Provenance: Prior to purchase, 'inherited from the vendor a direct descendant of the Hoggard family. Private collection, Kapiti Coast' (catalogue)