A rare convict-made painting of Hobart from the mid-1800s is set to go under the hammer at auction this month, with experts predicting it could fetch up to $500,000.
The 55 x 81.5cm canvas oil painting by Norwegian-born former convict Knut Bull titled ‘Hobart Town’ showcases the city as it appeared more than 100 years ago in 1855.
kunanyi/Mt Wellington can be seen towering over the town in the painting as several boats bob in the waves on the River Derwent.
Bull, who had worked as an artist in Norway, Dresden, Copenhagen and Stockholm before moving to London in 1845, was convicted of forging a promissory ‘promise to pay agreement’ note and transported to Norfolk Island.
He was later sent to Van Diemen’s Lands Saltwater River penal settlement on the Tasman Peninsula near Eaglehawk Neck and granted probation for good conduct in 1849.
Before his release in 1852 and a conditional pardon in 1854, Bull worked as a farm hand and private art tutor.
He passed away in 1889.
His ‘Hobart Town’ painting most recently belonged to the late Graham Joel and is among four highly-regarded pieces of Australian art to be auctioned by Smith & Singer (formerly Sotheby’s Australia) in Sydney on August 21.
The auction house estimates the total proceeds from the sale of all four works to reach up to $1.9 million, with Bull’s work expected to sell for between $300,000 and $500,000.
