JOHN CAMPBELL

Private collection, Melbourne; thence by descent to the present owner
Private collection, Melbourne

The work is in good, original condition, there is significant foxing in margins. This work is framed in a gold painted timber frame with mount.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A scenic artist, sign writer and decorator, John Campbell migrated to Australia from Scotland probably in the early 1880s, working in New South Wales and Queensland before moving to Western Australia around the turn of the 20^th century. His detailed house portraits and landscapes in oil and watercolour form a valuable record of late colonial buildings and cities, particularly Perth, and he is represented in the Art Gallery of Western Australia, the Mitchell Library and the Caroline Simpson Library of the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales. He is included in two broad historical surveys of colonial Western Australian art¹ and was the subject of a monographic exhibition at the Art Gallery of Western Australia in 2003.

 

It is thought Campbell may have lived in Parramatta whilst working in New South Wales.  The handsome late Victorian two-storey gabled brick house in the picture, with its pierced bargeboards, corrugated iron roof and clematis-hung iron lace verandas, is believed to have once stood in Parramatta on the corner of Hunter and Marsden Streets, facing Hunter Street. On top of a hill in the distance, framed by the two trees on the right of the house, can be seen a Palladian villa, probably the Francis Greenway-designed rectory of St. John's and former residence of Reverend Samuel Marsden.

We are most grateful to Clive Lucas and Shayne Bray, Local Studies and Family History Librarian at the Parramatta Heritage Centre for their assistance in cataloguing this work.

1.  Barbara Chapman, The Colonial Eye: a topographical and artistic record of the life and landscape of Western Australia 1798  1914, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, 1979; Janda Gooding, Western Australian Art and Artists 1900 - 1950, Art Gallery Western Australia, Perth, 1987; Janice Baker, John Campbell 1855 0 1924, Art Gallery Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, 2003