Henry Gritten

Henry Gritten arrived in Australian in 1853, having trained in England and exhibited in London and New York. During his twenty years in Australia, he moved between Sydney, Hobart Town, Melbourne and Launceston, painting views of the rapidly developing cities and nearby scenic landscapes. In 1864 he exhibited a scene from the Melbourne Botanic Gardens in the Melbourne Public Library’s first art competition. This became his bestselling view and between 1864 and 1871 Gritten painted at least five versions from this vantage point near the eastern entrance to the Gardens. Within the formally laid out grounds, well-dressed Melburnians promenade, admiring the exotic foliage and the view across the floodplains to the city, with church steeples and government buildings outlined against the Macedon Ranges. Contemporary photographs by Charles Nettleton and others (possibly Gritten himself) from this same position show his accuracy of foliage and features, although replantings and redesigned pathways prevent the exact location from being identified now.

Artist / Maker

Henry Gritten (1818—1873)

Creation Date

1865

Place created

Australia - Melbourne

Collection

Russell and Mab Grimwade Miegunyah Fund

Subjects

Art and Design - Paintings

Materials used

oil on canvas

Dimensions
(H x W x D)

sight 50 x 76 cm strainer 52.4 x 77.8 x 2 cm frame 68 x 94 x 7 cm

Credit line

The University of Melbourne Art Collection. Purchased through the Russell and Mab Grimwade Miegunyah Fund, 2018

Accession number

2018.0098.000.000

Copyright

Public domain. For image enquiries contact the Museums and Collections Department, Potter Museum of Art.

Request Access