HODGKINS, William, 1839-1898
Changing Pastures (Watercolour)
Liverpudlian by birth, William Mathew
Hodgkins followed the goldrush from Victoria
to Otago in 1862. His marriage in Dunedin
three years later produced six children,
including a daughter, Frances, whose fame and
artistic success have eclipsed her father’s
accomplishment. Yet in nineteenth century
New Zealand, Hodgkins senior was an artistic
colossus, exhibiting widely at art societies
throughout the country and publishing his
lectures on art in the daily newspapers. As a
self-taught watercolourist, his concern about
his lack of drawing skills led him to concentrate
on atmospheric effects, taking his cue from
Joseph Mallord William Turner whose work in
the National Gallery in London he described as
“a mine of artistic wealth”.