[Georges Hall, Major Johnston's Bankstown Estate NSW], 1805 / George Johnston

SSV/65

fonds

1805

Graphic Materials, Watercolours

431177

Drawings - 12.4 x 8.3 cm. - 19.6 x 26.2 cm., mount - 1 watercolour drawing on mount

George Johnston (1790-1820), who was born in the colony, was the son of the well-known early colonial identity Major George Johnston (1764-1823). Johnston Senior was given extensive grants of land in the Georges River district in 1798 and 1804. Johnston junior, the artist of the watercolour, was given a land grant of 500 acres from Governor King in 1804. His farm house, Georges Hall, is situated on what is now known as Batty Reserve, in the suburb of Georges Hall. Johnston was one of the colony's leading landholders, and is perhaps best known for his well-documented estate at Annandale. -- Reference:
Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol.2, 1788-1850. Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1967
"George's Hall Major Johnston's Bankstown Estate", P. Walker, in Australiana, Nov. 2002, pp. 124-126

The watercolour depicts a small residence, probably weatherboard, and an embryonic, possibly fruit, garden. The property appears to be carved out of the bush, and is a good, and rare, representation of development outside main town centres.
This small watercolour is the first work by the young Johnston (indeed the first work by any Johnston) to surface, and intriguingly relates closely to another more finished work, now in Kerry Stoke's collection, which has been attributed to George William Evans (Christie's London, Exploration & Travel, September 1996, lot 110). Evans, who was based at Parramatta at the time, may have taught Johnston, or possibly was simply commissioned to copy Johnston's work. Either way this intimates that the Johnstons were more assiduous patrons of colonial artists than had previously been understood.
It is also significant that the watercolour, which has suffered some light damage, is one of the - if not the - earliest view of the Bankstown district. In this sense the watercolour is a significant addition to the Mitchell Library's collections, as it documents an area not well represented in the colonial collections. -- Reference: Curator of Pictures, Mitchell Library, Oct. 2003
A non-contemporaneous title extracted from a now discarded mount, bears the inscription, "Georges Hall / Major Johnston's Estate / NSW / 1805".

Signed and dated at lower left, "G. Johnston / Apl 1805"
Handwritten on reverse of contemporary mount, "Major Johnstone's House / New South Wales / Drawn by his Son"