Henry Courtney Gritten (1818–1873) stands as a notable, if sometimes overlooked, figure in the annals of 19th-century landscape painting. Born in England, his artistic journey took him across the Atlantic to the burgeoning United States and subsequently to the distant colonies of Australia. Throughout his peripatetic career, Gritten diligently captured the diverse terrains he encountered, leaving behind a body of work that offers valuable insights into the landscapes and artistic sensibilities of his era. His paintings, often imbued with a romantic yet detailed approach, reflect both the established traditions of European art and a keen observation of the unique characteristics of new worlds.
Early Life and Artistic Foundations in England
Born in London in 1818, Henry C. Gritten's entry into the art world was perhaps facilitated by his familial connections. His father was a picture dealer, an occupation that would have undoubtedly exposed the young Gritten to a wide array of artworks and artists from an early age. This environment likely nurtured his nascent artistic talents and provided him with an informal education in the aesthetics and commerce of art. He received formal training, though specific details of his tutelage are not extensively documented.
Gritten's early career saw him moving within established artistic circles in London. He is known to have been acquainted with prominent artists of the day, including David Roberts (1796-1864), a celebrated Scottish painter renowned for his detailed architectural views and Orientalist scenes. Such connections would have been invaluable for a young artist seeking to establish himself.
His public debut as an artist occurred in 1835 when he first exhibited at the prestigious Royal Academy of Arts in London. The Royal Academy was, and remains, a central institution in the British art world, and exhibiting there was a significant milestone for any aspiring painter. Over the subsequent years, until around 1848, Gritten continued to show his works at the Royal Academy, as well as at other notable venues like the British Institution. These exhibitions primarily featured his landscape paintings, demonstrating his early commitment to this genre. His English works likely reflected the prevailing tastes for picturesque and romantic landscapes, influenced by titans such as J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) and John Constable (1776-1837), though Gritten would develop his own distinct, more topographically inclined style.
The American Interlude: New York and the Hudson River Valley
Around the early 1850s, seeking new opportunities or perhaps drawn by the allure of the New World, Henry C. Gritten made the significant decision to emigrate to the United States. He settled in New York City, which was rapidly becoming a vibrant cultural and artistic hub. During his relatively brief but active period in America, from approximately 1850 to 1853, Gritten continued to pursue his career as a landscape painter.
He found a platform for his work at the National Academy of Design in New York, a key institution for American artists, founded in a similar spirit to the Royal Academy in London. His submissions to the National Academy exhibitions showcased his evolving interests, including a fascination with the American landscape and its distinctive features. Works such as "View in the Kaatskill Mountains" and "Recollections of Scenery in New Hampshire" indicate his engagement with the kind of scenery that was inspiring the artists of the burgeoning Hudson River School, America's first true school of landscape painting. Artists like Thomas Cole (1801-1848), Asher B. Durand (1796-1886), and the younger Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900) were popularizing dramatic and meticulously detailed depictions of American wilderness, and Gritten's work from this period shows an affinity with this movement.
A notable aspect of his American sojourn was his interest in Gothic Revival architecture, a style then gaining popularity in the United States, championed by architects like Alexander Jackson Davis (1803-1892) and Richard Upjohn (1802-1878). This interest is evident in some of his compositions that incorporate architectural elements within rural settings.
The Springside Commission
A significant commission during Gritten's American years came in 1852 from Matthew Vassar, the founder of Vassar College. Gritten was engaged to create a series of oil paintings depicting "Springside," the estate of the recently deceased Andrew Jackson Downing (1815-1852), a highly influential landscape designer, horticulturalist, and writer on architecture. Downing was a pivotal figure in shaping American taste in landscape gardening and rural architecture, and his untimely death in a steamboat accident was widely mourned.
Gritten's paintings of Springside, located near Poughkeepsie, New York, were intended as a memorial and a record of Downing's picturesque design principles. These works, executed in a realistic style, captured the estate's carefully crafted landscapes, its Gothic Revival cottage, and the autumnal beauty of its grounds. They serve not only as examples of Gritten's skill but also as important historical documents of one of America's most significant early landscaped estates. This commission underscores Gritten's ability to secure patronage and his engagement with prominent cultural figures and themes of his time.
A New Horizon: Australia
Despite his activities in America, Gritten's restless spirit or search for more stable prospects led him to another major relocation. In 1853, he embarked on the long voyage to Australia, a land of burgeoning colonial settlements and vast, largely uncharted (by Europeans) landscapes. He initially arrived in Melbourne, Victoria, a city then in the throes of the gold rush excitement that had begun in 1851.
Like many new arrivals, Gritten was briefly caught up in the gold fever. He reportedly tried his luck at the Bendigo goldfields, one of the richest alluvial goldfields the world had ever seen. However, he soon discovered, as did many others, that the life of a gold digger was arduous and uncertain. He found that his skills as a painter offered a more reliable, if not necessarily lucrative, means of income. This decision marked his commitment to pursuing his artistic career in the Australian colonies. He also briefly engaged in photography, a medium then gaining traction, which often complemented the work of painters in providing visual records.
The Tasmanian Years: Documenting Hobart
By 1856, Henry C. Gritten had moved to Hobart Town (now Hobart) in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania since 1856). Hobart, one of Australia's oldest colonial settlements, offered a picturesque setting nestled between Mount Wellington (kunanyi) and the Derwent River. Gritten remained in Hobart until at least 1858, and during this period, he produced a significant body of work focusing on the town and its dramatic natural surroundings.
His paintings of Hobart are among his most recognized Australian works. He repeatedly depicted views of Hobart Town, often from similar vantage points, capturing the bustling port, the developing streetscapes, and the ever-present backdrop of Mount Wellington. One notable example is "Hobart Town" (1856), now in the collection of the Australian National Maritime Museum. This work, and others like it, showcases Hobart as an emerging international shipping hub, reflecting the colony's economic activities.
Gritten's Tasmanian landscapes are characterized by their detailed observation and a desire to convey the specific topography and atmosphere of the region. He was working in a context where other artists had already begun to interpret the Tasmanian landscape, most notably John Glover (1767-1849), an established English landscape painter who had emigrated to Van Diemen's Land in 1831 and brought a European Romantic sensibility to the Australian bush. Another contemporary in Tasmania, though with a different background, was Knud Bull (1811-1889), a Norwegian-born artist transported for forgery, who also painted views of Hobart. Gritten's work, while sharing a topographical focus with some colonial artists, often possessed a softer, more atmospheric quality. His series of views featuring Mount Wellington, for instance, explored the changing light and weather conditions on this dominant natural feature.
Return to Victoria: Melbourne and Beyond
After his Tasmanian sojourn, Gritten returned to Victoria, basing himself primarily in Melbourne. He continued to be an active exhibiting artist, participating in local art exhibitions and seeking commissions. His focus remained on landscape painting, and he traveled to various parts of Victoria to sketch and paint.
One of his most celebrated works from this period is "Melbourne from the Botanical Gardens" (1867), held in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria. This panoramic view captures the burgeoning city of Melbourne as seen from the tranquil, cultivated setting of its botanical gardens, which were being developed under the guidance of figures like Baron Ferdinand von Mueller (1825-1896). The painting is a testament to colonial ambition, contrasting the "civilized" space of the gardens with the expanding urban environment. It demonstrates Gritten's skill in handling complex compositions and his eye for detail in rendering both natural and man-made elements.
Another significant work from this period is "Jackson's Creek, Sunbury" (1867), also in the National Gallery of Victoria's collection. This painting depicts a more rural Victorian scene, showcasing his continued interest in capturing the specific character of the Australian landscape. These works place him alongside other prominent landscape painters active in Victoria during this era, such as Eugene von Guérard (1811-1901), known for his meticulously detailed and often sublime depictions of the Australian wilderness; Nicholas Chevalier (1828-1902), who also painted panoramic views and accompanied expeditions; and later, Abraham-Louis Buvelot (1814-1888), whose work marked a shift towards a more naturalistic and atmospheric interpretation of the Australian bush, influencing the Heidelberg School.
Gritten also reportedly painted scenes depicting the life of Indigenous Australians in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, although these works are less widely known. Such depictions, common among colonial artists like William Strutt (1825-1915) or S.T. Gill (1818-1880), varied in their ethnographic accuracy and sensitivity, but they form an important part of the visual record of colonial encounters.
Artistic Style, Techniques, and Influences
Henry C. Gritten's artistic style can be broadly characterized as a blend of Romanticism and Realism, typical of many mid-19th-century landscape painters. His training in England would have exposed him to the picturesque tradition, which emphasized pleasing compositions and often idealized views of nature. However, his work, particularly in America and Australia, also demonstrates a strong commitment to topographical accuracy and detailed observation, aligning with the realistic tendencies of the era.
He primarily worked in oils, employing traditional techniques of layering paint to achieve depth and luminosity. His color palettes were generally rich and varied, capable of capturing the subtle hues of different environments, from the autumnal tones of the Hudson River Valley to the distinctive light and colors of the Australian bush. Gritten was adept at rendering atmospheric effects – the play of light and shadow, the quality of the air, and the mood of a scene. This is evident in his depictions of Mount Wellington under different weather conditions or the expansive vistas of Melbourne.
While he was a contemporary of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in England, whose influence reached Australia through artists like Thomas Woolner (1825-1892) or later through the adoption of their principles by some Australian painters, Gritten's style does not show a strong adherence to their meticulous detail and vibrant, jewel-like colors. Instead, his work sits more comfortably within the broader tradition of 19th-century landscape painting that sought to balance faithful representation with artistic interpretation. His interest in Gothic Revival architecture, evident during his American period, suggests an engagement with Romantic ideals concerning the past and the picturesque.
His peripatetic career meant he was exposed to various artistic environments. In England, the legacy of Turner and Constable loomed large. In America, he encountered the burgeoning Hudson River School. In Australia, he was part of a generation of colonial artists, many of them immigrants like himself, who were grappling with the challenge of representing a new and often alien landscape through the lens of European artistic conventions. Artists like Conrad Martens (1801-1878) in New South Wales, with his Turneresque watercolors, or von Guérard with his precise, almost scientific, approach, represent the diversity of responses to the Australian environment. Gritten carved his own niche within this context, producing works that were both informative and aesthetically pleasing.
Challenges, Later Years, and Recognition
Despite his consistent output and participation in exhibitions, Henry C. Gritten's artistic career was not without its struggles. Like many artists of his time, particularly those working in the colonies where established patronage systems were still developing, he faced financial difficulties. Reports suggest that he suffered from ill health in his later years, which likely compounded his economic hardships.
While he was active in local art scenes and his work was exhibited, he did not achieve widespread fame or financial security during his lifetime. The art markets in colonial Australia were relatively small, and public appreciation often favored more established European names or grander, more dramatic subjects than Gritten typically produced. His attempts to supplement his income through other means, such as his brief foray into gold digging or photography, indicate the precariousness of an artistic career.
Henry C. Gritten passed away in 1873. For a period, his work, like that of many colonial artists, received limited attention. However, with the growing interest in Australian colonial art from the mid-20th century onwards, his contributions have been re-evaluated. Art historians and curators began to recognize the value of his paintings not only for their artistic merit but also as important historical documents.
Legacy and Historical Assessment
Today, Henry C. Gritten is recognized as a competent and diligent landscape painter who made a valuable contribution to the visual record of the places he lived and worked, particularly colonial Australia. His works are held in major public collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria, the Australian National Maritime Museum, and Vassar College in the United States.
His paintings offer a window into the 19th-century world: the developing cities of Hobart and Melbourne, the landscapes of regional Victoria, and the estates of the American elite. They reflect the colonial gaze, depicting landscapes that were being transformed by European settlement, yet they also convey a genuine appreciation for the beauty and character of these environments.
The "unresolved mysteries" surrounding Gritten often pertain to the finer details of his life and career, particularly the full extent of his activities in New York or the specific circumstances that led to his various relocations. The narrative of his life, marked by artistic endeavor amidst personal challenges, is a poignant reminder of the often-difficult path faced by artists in the 19th century.
In the broader context of art history, Gritten may not be considered an innovator on par with the leading figures of major art movements. However, his significance lies in his role as a chronicler and interpreter of diverse landscapes during a period of significant global change and colonial expansion. His paintings of Hobart, for instance, are crucial for understanding the early visual representation of that city. Similarly, his Springside paintings provide an invaluable record of A.J. Downing's influential landscape design.
Henry C. Gritten's art serves as a bridge between worlds – between England, America, and Australia, and between the established artistic traditions of Europe and the emerging visual cultures of new societies. His dedication to his craft, despite personal hardships, resulted in a legacy of artworks that continue to inform and engage viewers today, offering glimpses into the landscapes and aspirations of a bygone era. His journey and his oeuvre underscore the vital role that artists played in documenting and shaping perceptions of the world in the 19th century.
