Kōrero: Painting

Alfred Sharpe came to New Zealand in 1859, when he was in his early 20s, and by the 1870s was exhibiting watercolours of the Auckland district with the Auckland Society of Arts. Although he supported himself largely through work as an architectural draughtsman and art teacher, Sharpe regarded himself as a professional artist. His painting accorded with the conventions expected of landscape painters at this time. This work, completed in 1889, is a good example. Painted from a high viewpoint, it is framed by a dark foreground of foliage, and leads the eye towards a golden glow in the sky and blue mountains in the distance.