The Royal Society of Tasmania Art Collection has been assessed as being of National Significance and yet the vast majority of the works have never been seen by the public. The Oatlands exhibition is the first in a series that will bring the exquisite paintings of colonial Tasmania to both visitors and the regional people of Tasmania. The first exhibition will feature four wonderful 19th Century artists; Simpkinson De Wesselow, John Skinner Prout, Louisa Anne Meredith and Charles Piguenit
Simpkinson De Wesselow travelled extensively compiling a valuable visual record of our islands. Max Angus was a great admirer of de Wesselow’s work and wrote, ‘There is a quality of naturalness in Simpkinson’s watercolours … nothing can quite explain the extraordinary sense of freshness and vitality …’.
Louisa Anne Meredith was a prolific artist, writer, conservationist and social commentator. The Society has a large number of her sketches and watercolours sketched of many East Coast scenes from Wineglass Bay to Hobart, but she is best known for her wonderful watercolours of native wildflowers of Tasmania.
Charles Piguenit was a Tasmanian-born draftsman who delighted in painting the rugged Tasmanian highlands, many of his works have become highly prized.
John Skinner Prout, a well-known English artist, spent several years in Tasmania and often teamed up with De Wesselow on painting expeditions around the state.