Photograph
Maker & role
after Conrad Martens (b.1801, d.1878), Artist
Production date
1984
Object detail
Title
The east garden at Elizabeth Farm [reproduction of original by Conrad Martens]
Production place
Collection
Measurements
0 - Whole, H: 58 x W: 42cm (H: 580 x W: 420mm)
Subject Place
Credit line
Commission, 1984
Elizabeth Farm Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Elizabeth Farm Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Caption
Photographic reproduction of a watercolour by Conrad Martens (1801 – 1878), showing the east garden at Elizabeth Farm, as seen from the library/bedroom.
Description
Colour framed photographic reproduction of a watercolour by Conrad Martens [1801 – 1878] of the east garden at Elizabeth Farm, as seen from the lbrary/bedroom. The view is from the the house's eastern verandah, and shows a rustic garden bench at left foreground, over which a coat and walking stick have been placed. A dog rests alomngside it. A eucalypt (river gum, Eucalyptus tereticornis) is at right foreground, and there are shrubs such as China roses in the middle ground. A dead tree at centre rear is a typical element in Martens' views. An annotated pencil sketch of this view also exists, which indicates a few plant species such as a 'bay tree' [laurus nobilis]. The original hangs in the library at Camden Park, below a portrait of Elizabeth Macarthur in old age: that arrangement is reproduced in the library bedroom at Elizabeth Farm where this can be seen.
This view is especially important as it is one of the only illustrations showing garden plants at the property, a garden which otherwise survives in extensive text records. It was used to assist in the recreation of the east garden when the house opened as a museum. The river gum was replanted, but later removed when its size impacted the garden and foundation of the house. Martens is one of the most prolific and well-known colonial artists. He was comissioned by the Macarthurs to create views of their various properties (this commissioned by Sir Edward Macarthur in 1859) and was a drawing tutor to the young Elizabeth Macarthur (later Macarthur-Onslow). A copy of another view by him of Elizabeth Farm - from an original also at Camden Park and also commissioned by Edward - can be seen in the house's dining room.
This view is especially important as it is one of the only illustrations showing garden plants at the property, a garden which otherwise survives in extensive text records. It was used to assist in the recreation of the east garden when the house opened as a museum. The river gum was replanted, but later removed when its size impacted the garden and foundation of the house. Martens is one of the most prolific and well-known colonial artists. He was comissioned by the Macarthurs to create views of their various properties (this commissioned by Sir Edward Macarthur in 1859) and was a drawing tutor to the young Elizabeth Macarthur (later Macarthur-Onslow). A copy of another view by him of Elizabeth Farm - from an original also at Camden Park and also commissioned by Edward - can be seen in the house's dining room.
Accession number
EFR87/4
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