Mitre Peak

Mitre Peak in Milford Sound, Fiordland, has been painted many times. This 1870s image by John Barr Clark Hoyte or J.C. Hoyte (1835–1913) softens its ridges and reduces its scale. Milford became accessible on foot in 1888 and has remained a premier tourist site ever since.

English artist J.C. Hoyte worked in New Zealand between around 1861 to 1879. He based himself in Auckland, where he was a founding member of the Society of Artists. Essentially an exponent of the picturesque landscape, he retained a topographical interest but this was always subordinated to the effects of light, deep space, and atmosphere. His paintings tend to be formulaic, with bright colours and a prevalence of strong blue and purple.