Watercolour
Maker & role
Conrad Martens (b.1801, d.1878), Artist
Production date
1858
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Object detail
Title
Crows Nest House
Production place
Measurements
watercolour, H: 33.7 x W: 52.8cm (H: 337 x W: 528mm); Frame, H: 64.8 x W: 78.8cm (H: 648 x W: 788mm)
Subject Place
Credit line
Gift, through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2004
Caroline Simpson Collection, Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Caroline Simpson Collection, Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Caption
Crows Nest House, by Conrad Martens, 1858, watercolour on paper
Description
Watercolour by Conrad Martens of Crows Nest House.
The watercolour was painted for Alexander Berry, a Scotish-born merchant, in 1858. Berry and his wife, Elizabeth, had inherited the Crows Nest estate following the death of her brother, Edward Wollstonecraft, in December 1832. Because of the extensive view Edward had named the original cottage Crows Nest after the lookout station at the top of ships’ masts. The name stayed and today covers an entire suburb.
In 1850, five years after the death of Elizabeth, Berry built this stone mansion about a half mile from the site of the original cottage. The house, with its library, fine stables, sweeping lawns and harbour views, was where Berry spent his increasingly reclusive old age as one of the wealthiest men in Australia. In 1932 the house was demolished for the North Sydney Demonstration School, situated between Bay Road and McHatton Street, where the great stone gates of Crows Nest still front what is now the Pacific Highway.
Martens’ home, Rockleigh Grange, was built on land that had once been part of Berry’s Crows Nest estate. He had sold it in 1838 to Martens’ father-in-law, William Carter, who in turn had given it to his daughter, Jane, upon her marriage to Martens.
This acquisition is part of the Caroline Simpson Collection, originally housed at Clyde Bank, an 1820s Georgian mansion in The Rocks. Clyde Bank was acquired by Caroline Simpson in 1992 and, following its conservation, opened to the public in 1996 as a showcase for her private collection of Australian colonial furniture, pictures, objets d’art and images of colonial places from around the world. Caroline Simpson OAM (1930-2003) supported many causes during her lifetime, particularly the conservation and appreciation of Australia’s colonial heritage. Her philanthropy was generous but mostly anonymous.
The watercolour was painted for Alexander Berry, a Scotish-born merchant, in 1858. Berry and his wife, Elizabeth, had inherited the Crows Nest estate following the death of her brother, Edward Wollstonecraft, in December 1832. Because of the extensive view Edward had named the original cottage Crows Nest after the lookout station at the top of ships’ masts. The name stayed and today covers an entire suburb.
In 1850, five years after the death of Elizabeth, Berry built this stone mansion about a half mile from the site of the original cottage. The house, with its library, fine stables, sweeping lawns and harbour views, was where Berry spent his increasingly reclusive old age as one of the wealthiest men in Australia. In 1932 the house was demolished for the North Sydney Demonstration School, situated between Bay Road and McHatton Street, where the great stone gates of Crows Nest still front what is now the Pacific Highway.
Martens’ home, Rockleigh Grange, was built on land that had once been part of Berry’s Crows Nest estate. He had sold it in 1838 to Martens’ father-in-law, William Carter, who in turn had given it to his daughter, Jane, upon her marriage to Martens.
This acquisition is part of the Caroline Simpson Collection, originally housed at Clyde Bank, an 1820s Georgian mansion in The Rocks. Clyde Bank was acquired by Caroline Simpson in 1992 and, following its conservation, opened to the public in 1996 as a showcase for her private collection of Australian colonial furniture, pictures, objets d’art and images of colonial places from around the world. Caroline Simpson OAM (1930-2003) supported many causes during her lifetime, particularly the conservation and appreciation of Australia’s colonial heritage. Her philanthropy was generous but mostly anonymous.
Accession number
L2005/22
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