A view of the artist's house and garden, in Mills Plains, Van Diemen's Land

Following a successful career as an artist in England and on the eve of his departure for Australia in 1831, John Glover expressed his keen anticipation for his new life on the other side of the world, remarking that: ‘The expectation of finding a new beautiful world – new landscapes, new trees, new flowers, new animals, birds etc. is delightful to me’.

In A view of the artist’s house and garden we see that the artist rapidly embraced his new world; however, he never fully turned his heart away from his distant homeland. The scene is an evocative conflation of two representations of place. Featuring Glover’s newly built home and studio in Deddington, northern Tasmania, it showcases his replica English garden, a nostalgic reference to the other idea of ‘home’ as elsewhere. Yet, flooded in bright summer sunlight, this farm scene exudes a sense of optimism, comfort and success. Proud of his Southern Hemisphere achievements, Glover displayed this painting in an exhibition in London soon after it was painted. The house, named Patterdale, still stands today.

Tracey Lock, Curator of Australian Paintings and Sculpture