William_Piguenit_-_The_Flood_in_the_Darling_1890

William Charles Piguenit (27 August 1836 – 17 July 1914) was an Australian landscape painter.

Early life

Piguenit was born in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, to Frederick Le Geyt Piguenit and Mary Ann née Igglesden. Frederick had been transported to

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

in 1830, with Mary Ann following him. They married in Hobart in 1833. His first artistic influences came from his mother, who set up a school for young ladies where she taught "French, music and drawing".

Career

In 1850 he became a draftsman with the Tasmanian Lands & Survey Department, working in particular on the Geological Survey of Tasmania. During this employment Piguenit provided lithographic illustrations for The Salmon Ponds and vicinity,

New Norfolk, Tasmania New Norfolk is a town on the River Derwent, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. At the 2011 census, New Norfolk had a population of 5,543. Situated north-west of Hobart on the Lyell Highway, New Norfolk is a modern Australian regional ...

. He took painting lessons from Scottish immigrant artist Frank C. Dunnett (1822–1891). Until he got a good price for a painting from Sir

James Agnew Sir James Willson Agnew (2 October 1815 – 8 November 1901) was an Irish-born Australian politician, who was Premier of Tasmania from 1886 to 1887. Early life Agnew was born in Ballyclare, Ireland and educated at London, Paris and Glasgow; h ...

, the Premier of Tasmania, he had little success as a painter. Piguenit left public service in 1873 to devote his time to painting. His painting of Tasmanian landscapes soon brought favourable reviews. He was a participant in the exploration, description and surveying of the western part of Tasmania. The paintings he produced of western Tasmania were purchased by the Tasmanian government under a special act of parliament.

New South Wales

After moving to

NSW ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in 1880 Piguenit's subjects included the Darling,

Nepean Nepean may refer to: Places Australia *Nepean Bay, a bay in South Australia, **Nepean Bay Conservation Park, a protected area in South Australia, **Nepean Bay, South Australia, a locality *Nepean Highway, Victoria *Nepean Island (Norfolk Island) ...

and Hawkesbury Rivers as well as the

Lane Cove River The Lane Cove River, a northern tributary of the Parramatta River, is a tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary west of Sydney Harbour, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river is a tributary of the Parramatta River, winding throu ...

close to his Hunters Hill home. At this time he became one of the founders of the Art Society of New South Wales. Later, during a visit to Tasmania he was noticed by Lady Hamilton, wife of Governor Robert Hamilton and many his drawings were purchased by the government for the Hobart gallery. His ''Flood in the Darling'' was purchased for the National Art Gallery of New South Wales (now

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

) in 1895. In 1898 and 1900 he visited Europe, exhibiting at London and Paris. Returning to Australia he won the

Wynne Prize The Wynne Prize is an Australian landscape painting or figure sculpture art prize. As one of Australia's longest-running art prizes, it was established in 1897 from the bequest of Richard Wynne. Now held concurrently with the Sir John Sulman Prize ...

in 1901 with his ''Thunder storm on the Darling.'' In 1903 he was commissioned by the National Art Gallery of New South Wales trustees to paint ''Mount Kosciusko.'' By the end of the century he was regarded as the leading Australian-born landscape painter.

Death

Piguenit died on 17 July 1914 at his home, "Saintonge", in the Sydney suburb of

Hunters Hill Hunters Hill is a suburb of the lower north shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area ...

. He was buried in the Field of Mars cemetery, where his headstone inscription reads: IN LOVING MEMORY OF WILLIAM CHARLES PIGUENIT DIED 17th JULY 1914; AGED 77 YEARS. "UNTO THE UPRIGHT THERE ARISETH LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS" (Field of Mars Cemetery: C of E, Sec. C. Grave 618).

Gallery

File:William Charles Piguenit00.jpg,

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River, is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney. ...

with Figures in Boat (1881) File:Wc Piguenit - Kosciusko - Google Art Project.jpg,

Mount Kosciuszko Mount Kosciuszko ( ; Ngarigo: , ), previously spelled Mount Kosciusko, is mainland Australia's tallest mountain, at 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level. It is located on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National ...

(1903) File:W.C. Piguenit - Near Liverpool, New South Wales - Google Art Project.jpg, Near

Liverpool, New South Wales Liverpool is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately south-west of the Sydney CBD. Liverpool is the administrative seat of the local government area of the City of Liverp ...

(1908) File:William Piguenit - The Summit of the King William Range, Tasmania, 1902.jpg, The Summit of the

King William Range The King William Range is a mountain range in the South West Wilderness, Tasmania, Australia. It is situated south of the Lyell Highway and Derwent Bridge. It is the source of the Gordon River catchment. Despite older designations of a singl ...

(1902) File:W C. Piguenit - An Australian fjord - Google Art Project.jpg, An Australian Fjord (c. 1900)

Collections

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

''An Australian fjord'', n.d.

Geelong Art Gallery The Geelong Art Gallery, currently known as Geelong Gallery, is a major regional art gallery, gallery in the city of Geelong, Victoria, Geelong in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The gallery has over 6,000 works of art in its collectio ...

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

''Hell's Gates, Davey River, Tasmania'', 1871

''Near Liverpool, New South Wales'', c.1908
* ''On the Nepean, New South Wales'', n.d.

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

''Mt. Olympus, Lake St. Clair, Tasmania'', 1878

''On the Craycroft (i.e. Cracroft), Tasmania'', 1878

''Tasmanian landscape'', c. 1880

''Mount King William from Lake George, Tasmania'', 1887

State Library of Tasmania The State Reference Library is the reference library in the state of Tasmania, Australia. It is part of Libraries Tasmania. Libraries Tasmania includes a state-wide network of library services, community learning, adult literacy and the State� ...

''On the Derwent'', n.d.

''In the Grose Valley'', 1887

''Lane Cove from below the Bridge, near Sydney N.S.Wales'', n.d.

Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) is a museum located in Hobart, Tasmania. The museum was established in 1846, by the Royal Society of Tasmania, the oldest Royal Society outside England. The TMAG receives 400,000 visitors annually. ...

(TMAG)
''The Tower of Strength'', c. 1900

Notes

Resources

Diary, 1871, 1873, 1875

State Library of Queensland The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research library provided to the people of the State of Queensland, Australia, by the state government. Its legislative basis is provided by the Queensland Libraries Act 1988. It contai ...

* Account of trips from Hobart Town to Port Davey 14 February 1871 – 9 March 1871, from Hobart Town to Lake St. Clair 8 Feb. 1873-10 Mar. 1873 and from Hobart Town to Queensland 13 September 1875 – 13 October 1875, including i.a. notes concerning sketches, photographs and landscape scenery.

External links

More works by Piguenit
@ ArtNet
WC Piguenit
at the

* * * Joseph Davis, The Wild Man Who Turned Mild: the life and art of W.C. Piguenit 1836-19
William 1836_births
1914_deaths.html" ;"title="1836 births">William 1836 births
1914 deaths">1836 births">William 1836 births
1914 deaths Western Tasmania Wynne Prize winners 19th-century Australian painters 19th-century Australian male artists 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Artists from Tasmania Australian male painters