[A family group with canoe, possibly near Clovelly House, Watsons Bay], 1886
[A family group with canoe, possibly near Clovelly House, Watsons Bay], 1886 by William Pitt Wilshire
This very old painting has been looked at by many people and still, its mysteries linger. People who study things from the past like historians have a very hard job to do because things aren’t always what they seem.
When I first saw this, something told me that these people had something to tell me, that there was a bigger story to tell than what the painting was saying because of the way every person in the painting was looking at me. It gives me mysterious vibes.
You might notice the people in the painting are wearing European clothing so they must have made some kind of contact with the European people, but their shelter is made of completely natural materials - tree bark, tree branches and leaves. This shows what kind of changes the Aboriginal people had to make to suit what Europeans thought was right. The two people in the middle seem to be just visiting because of the clothes they are wearing, and they look kind of sad. They could have possibly arrived on the boat in the bottom right hand corner. It's not a traditional Aboriginal boat.
If I could ever talk to the people in the painting, I would ask them “who are you?” because there is a huge mystery behind this painting. Another observation I made is that there is a small dark splodge in front and when you look closely at it, it could be a child. What do you think?
Walking into this painting would be wonderful, seeing all the trees and the water, smelling the nature and the leaves, maybe hearing a soft gust of wind while touching crunching leaves.
Over time Australia has developed and now if you've been to the cities in Sydney or Melbourne it's really busy and polluted. This painting gives me an opportunity to go back to the past and see shelters made of things from nature and imagining the tall towering trees.
Overall, I think this painting is a fascinating piece and I want people to think more about its history because it shows a story within a small canvas and I find that fascinating with most pieces of art.