Italian-born Girolamo Nerli painted this oil of St Clair beach in 1895 during the three years that he spent in Dunedin. He had first come to the city in 1889 when nine of his paintings were exhibited in the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition. He returned in 1893, became an important art teacher, and painted a number of scenes around Dunedin, such as this one. They were usually painted outside, rather than in a studio, and, as in this example, were characterised by fluid brushwork and ochre colours that had elements of an impressionist style.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Hocken Collections, University of Otago
Reference: Acc. No: 95/74
by Girolamo Pieri Nerli
Permission of the Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hakena, University of Otago, must be obtained before any re-use of this image. Further information may be obtained from the Library through its website.