HOBART_1858

April 2021

Hobart Town (Tasmania) Exhibition 1858

Pictures from the collection of Rev. Dr. Francis Russell Nixon, shown in the catalogue as 'Lord Bishop of Tasmania', were displayed at this exhibition.

For e-mail and background information see: Hobart Town (Tasmania) Exhibition 1845

Commentary and analysis of the 1845 and 1858 Hobart Town Exhibitions

It is clear from both exhibition catalogues that 'The Country Waggon, Snowdon - Early Morning' was lent as 'View of Snowdon, North Wales'. In the extract from Hobart Town Daily Mercury (1858) below 'View of Snowdon, North Wales' and 'Landscape' are included together in the same 'descriptive' paragraph. In both catalogues they are presented as oils.It therefore appears that Bishop Nixon treated these pictures as a pair.

The question arises as to whether or not 'Landscape' was 'The rising squall, hot wells, from St. Vincent's rock, Bristol'. This is answered in the catalogue for Christie's sale of 9th July 1864 where it can be seen that lot 151 was 'The Country Waggon, Snowdon - Early Morning' and lot 152 was 'The Hotwells, Bristol: storm coming on, fishermen securing their boats. Vide Burnett's Life of Turner' In the italicised text 'Burnet' is misspelled and the title of his work misquoted but the implication is quite clear: lot 152 is 'The rising squall, hot wells, from St. Vincent's rock, Bristol'.

There is no suggestion that Bishop Nixon left any part of his collection in England during his term of office in Tasmania. Loans to exhibitions in Tasmania are shown in the appendices in Keith Adkins, 'To Serve in a Distant Land'; All five of Bishop Nixon's Turners were exhibited and there is no evidence that he was in possession of any other works by Turner. From our broader analysis of literary works we know that Nixon's father (Rev. Robert Nixon) retained Turner's very early oil on canvas, 'Rochester Castle with Fishermen Drawing Boats Ashore In A Gale of Wind' at Foots Cray where Turner completed it. Both 'The rising squall, hot wells, from St. Vincent's rock, Bristol' and 'Rochester Castle with Fishermen Drawing Boats Ashore In A Gale of Wind' qualify as 'Landscapes'. because they both relate to inland waters whereas a 'seapiece' relates to coastal or open waters. Rev. Robert Nixon clearly bequeathed (or directly gave) 'The Country Waggon, Snowdon - Early Morning' and 'The rising squall, hot wells, from St. Vincent's rock, Bristol' to Francis Russell (Bishop Nixon). It is not clear to whom he gave 'Rochester Castle with Fishermen Drawing Boats Ashore In A Gale of Wind'. It may have been given to the elder son, George Russell.

From entries in the catalogue we ascertain that Bishop Nixon thought that he had possession of Turner's first oil. However, Bishop Nixon attributed this honour to the wrong picture, 'The Country Waggon, Snowdon - Early Morning'. His 'Landscape', 'The rising squall, hot wells, from St. Vincent's rock, Bristol' was Turner's first exhibited oil (at the Royal Academy in 1793). Literary evidence shows 'Rochester Castle with Fishermen Drawing Boats Ashore In A Gale of Wind' to be Turner's second oil.

Works exhibited in 1858 by Rev. Dr. Francis Russell Nixon, Bishop of Tasmania

W Boxall; 'Portrait of the late Rev. Robert Nixon'; No. 11

JMW Turner; 'Landscape'; No. 133; Oil

Guido; 'St. Sebastian'; No. 143; Oil

JMW Turner; 'View of Snowdon, North Wales; No. 157; Oil
The bishop wrote of these two works (133 & 157):
"Those who are aquainted with the brilliancy of Turner's later works, would fail to recognise his master hand in these two paintings."

after Bright; 'Sunset on the Danube'; No. 179; Chromalithograph

H Bright; 'Shipwreck'; No. 180; Crayon Drawing

Rev. Robert Nixon; 'The Lover's Seat at Hastings'; Oil

John Varley; 'Landscape'; Oil

W. Hamilton RA; 'Scene from Shakespeare's Winter's Tale'; Oil

Catalogue of the 1858 Exhibition (extracts)

Page 8

Page 9

Hobart Town Daily Mercury (extract)