The valley of the Wilkin from Huddleston's run by John Gully

The valley of the Wilkin from Huddleston’s run, 1877, by John Gully.

John Gully (1819–88) arrived in New Zealand from England in 1851, settling in New Plymouth before moving to Nelson in 1860. He had some training as a painter in his native town of Bath. He initially earned his living doing jobs like storekeeping, and it was not until the 1870s and 1880s that he came into his own as a painter. His speciality was watercolour landscapes of mountains and lakes.

Disliking small forms and details, Gully concentrated on the elemental forces of nature seen on a grand scale. He was concerned with picturesque subjects and style, which by this time had been more or less fully assimilated into the art public’s consciousness.