Hobart 1938 by Sir Arthur Streeton

Hobart 1938 - Sir Arthur Streeton - Cityscape Canvas Wall Art

About This Piece

Hobart 1938 - Sir Arthur Streeton - Cityscape Canvas Wall Art suits both traditional and modern interiors. As a cityscape oil painting, it works as a standalone focal point or as part of a gallery wall gallery wall, and unlike a print it is genuinely hand painted in oils.

Composition & Subject

1938
Oil on canvas
102 x 152 cm
Private collection, Melbourne.

The oil painting Hobart (1st impression) resulted from a trip Arthur Streeton made to the southern capital in 1938 on a commission from the Tasmanian Tourist Bureau. A number of Tasmanian subjects resulted from the visit including three versions, or 'impressions' as Streeton called them, of Hobart. Another painting, titled Hobart, measured some 100 by 150 centimeters, and is believed to be one of the largest Australian works he ever painted. It was recently seen in Arthur Streeton and the Australian Coast, presented by the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery over the summer of 2004-5. An informative note in the catalogue to that exhibition informed that Streeton, accompanied by the then leading watercolourist Harold Herbert, had flown to Hobart, it being 'the first time in his life Streeton travelled in an aeroplane...'.1 The experience led him to include one such craft in the upper part of the painting.

The second and third impressions Streeton painted of Hobart were smaller than our painting and are probably identified with a recent work on the market titled Hobart from the Slopes of Mount Wellington. All were included in Streeton's exhibition at the Melbourne Athenaeum Gallery in August 1938, together with another Tasmanian view, Bridge in New Norfolk. In both the large Hobart and Hobart (1st impression) Streeton chose a view that had been popular with artists for over a century. Taken from Kangaroo Point across the Derwent, the scene was recorded by John Glover probably as early as 1833, by Henry Gritten in 1858, and again by Eugène von Guérard and later W. C. Piguenit. In each, Mount Wellington acts as a massive and sublime backdrop to the city nestling at its foot, the blue scenic waters separating the city and its port from the vantage point. Streeton's two panoramas of Hobart continue that tradition of the grand Australian image found in many of his best paintings - Golden Summer (1889, National Gallery of Australia), The purple noon's transparent might (1896, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne), Australia Felix (1907, Art Gallery of South Australia), Land of the Golden Fleece 1926 (private collection), and countless glories of Sydney Harbour painted from 1890 to 1926.

Collectors often choose this cityscape image when searching for cityscape oil painting that feels substantial rather than decorative or disposable.

Materials & Craftsmanship

Materials matter for refined wall decor. That is why this piece is built on artist-grade canvas with lightfast oil colors, applied by hand rather than output from a printer, and sealed for long-term display.

What Is Included

• Every cityscape canvas is hand painted in oils; no mechanical or digital reproduction at any stage.
• An extra 2-inch blank border is left around all edges for easy stretching and framing.
• Direct-from-studio worldwide delivery with no third-party resellers.
• Available canvas sizes for this hand painted oil painting: 20 X 24 in, 24 X 36 in, 30 X 40 in, 36 X 48 in, 48 X 72 in.
• Custom sizes available: order this painting in your preferred dimensions.
• Flexible shipping through DHL, UPS, FedEx, USPS and partner networks.
• Complimentary stretching over wooden stretcher bars; ask us about a custom frame.
• Before dispatch we email a digital proof so you can approve the finished canvas.

Styling & Placement

Style it over a fireplace, behind a reading chair, or along a staircase. Wherever it goes, this refined oil painting wall decor adds the layered color that only a hand painted canvas provides.

Shipping & Guarantee

Whether the search term is cityscape oil painting, gallery wall art, or refined oil painting wall decor, this hand painted canvas delivers the same thing: a real painted surface, made to your chosen dimensions.