The Steeples, Westport; John GULLY; 1880; 13
The Steeples, Westport
About this objectA sailing ship slips past the Three Steeples off Cape Foulwind. The Rocks cast ominous shapes echoed by the breaking wave in the right foreground.
Maker Date Made1880
Medium and MaterialsWatercolour on paper
Subject and Association KeywordsLandscapes/Regional landscapes
Subject and Association Keywords Subject and Association Keywords Subject and Association Keywords Subject and Association KeywordsNew Zealand/South Island/West Coast/Cape Foulwind
Subject and Association Description
The Three Steeples Rocks are off the coast of Westport. On 28 January 1865, 15 years before this painting was created, John Gully was almost drowned on the Westport Bar. He was in a lifeboat that was attempting to cross the bar to the shore when it overturned on a wave. It took only 15 minutes for a second life boat to rescue the men but during that time three out of the nine were drowned (John Sidney Gully, 1984).
Te Papa holds the sketch from which this painting is based. It was done on John Gully's 1874 cruise from Nelson to Fiordland on Governor James Fergusson's yacht Blanche.
The Bishop Suter Art Gallery Founding Donation, gifted by Mrs Amelia Suter in memory of her husband Bishop Andrew Burn Suter in 1895
Object Type Object number13
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