Places

Date: 1870 - 1872

By: Barraud, Charles Decimus, 1822-1897

Reference: D-040-007

Description: Shows a distant view of William Fox's homestead, Westoe, on the Rangitikei River flat. A snow-covered Mount Ruapehu is seen in the distance. In the bottom-left foreground is a white-bearded man on a horse, with a small dog; this is possibly Fox himself, though he is not identified. He later built a second home, also called Westoe, on a higher terrace (about where the horseman is seen), away from the flood plains Other Titles - Lower Westoe Inscriptions: Recto - bottom right - C D Barraud / 1870[?] [in brushpoint] See also Fox's own painting of the original homestead, at WC-054 (digitised) Fox was born in the village of Westoe in Durham, England. His second homestead, called Westoe, was completed in 1874 The backing board from the painting reveals that it was at one time owned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (date unspecified), and was later de-accessioned (also unspecified). The accession number was recorded as -/1/921 Quantity: 1 watercolour(s). Physical Description: Watercolour on artist's paper, 485 x 785 mm Provenance: Purchase: Dunbar Sloane Fine and Applied Art auction, Wellington, 1 July 2015; lot 45. Prior to purchase, belonging to a private collection, purchased at Sale, Dunbar Sloane Ltd., 12 June 1990; lot 6 (from catalogue)

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.