The ‘launch’ of a recent acquisition for the Runnymede collection provided an opportunity to bring Hobart philanthropists together, with happy results.
National Trust Collections continue to grow, reflecting our evolving awareness of the cultural significance of our properties. Funding from the Australian Government’s National Cultural Heritage Account has allowed National Trust Tasmania to acquire a portrait of Dorothea Pitcairn for the Runnymede collection.
The portrait of Dorothea Pitcairn (née Dumas, 1810-1887) is firmly attributed to the peripatetic British artist, Conway Hart (1814-1864). Dorothea Pitcairn was the wife of Robert Pitcairn (1802-1861), builder of Runnymede (originally Cairn Lodge). Dorothea Pitcairn’s diaries and letters in the collection of the National Library of Scotland provide a wealth of detail for interpreting Runnymede and its garden.
The portrait fills a significant gap in Runnymede’s telling of its story. While the Pitcairns built Runnymede, they were under-represented in its collection. The portrait also strengthens Runnymede as a place of women’s history with women such as Dorothea Pitcairn, Anna Maria Nixon and the women of the Bayley / Bayley families who used the house to advance social and political causes. An exhibition, Puncturing the Mask of Civility, by a group of Hobart artists, opening this December will delve into the histories of Runnymede’s women.
Portraits by Conway Hart, who worked in Hobart and Victoria (1850-61) are rare. Tasmania’s mid-19th century prosperity and optimism led Hart to seek commissions in Hobart. This oil portrait relates to a photographic portrait previously attributed to Frederick Frith c1855 in the Runnymede collection. Warwick Oakman has since attributed the ambrotype portrait to Conway Hart on the basis of it providing a reference for this portrait. After 1855 photographic portraits took over from public oil portraits in Tasmania and became the domain of artists such as William Paul Dowling. It could be argued that Conway Hart represents a last hurrah in terms of the oil portrait that was both academic and flamboyant.
National Trust Tasmania Board Member, Harriett England invited a number of philanthropists to the launch of the Dorothea Pitcairn portrait. An anonymous donor has since made a significant donation to Runnymede that will be invested in the maintenance of Runnymede’s entrance gates. We acknowledge this support with gratitude.
Images: Warwick Oakman speaking on the importance of the Dorothea Pitcairn portrait to Australian art (above); the Runnymede gates (below)
