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Story: Wellington places

Pumpkin Cottage

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Pumpkin Cottage

In the 1890s the Scottish artist James Nairn settled in Silverstream. He was a teacher at the Wellington design school and his ramshackle ‘Pumpkin Cottage’ (a large pumpkin was painted on its side) attracted painters interested in Impressionism. Among them were Nugent Welch and Fred Sedgwick. Along with other painters, they became known as the Silverstream School. This painting of Pumpkin Cottage, from around 1930, is by Algernon Gifford.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: A-200-004

by Algernon Charles Gifford

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Chris Maclean, Wellington places – Upper Hutt, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/13476/pumpkin-cottage (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Chris Maclean, published 3 March 2009, updated 1 March 2016.