Charles Henry Howorth and the fate of traditional landscape painting in New Zealand

Abstract

This thesis examines the artistic fate of traditional landscape painting in New Zealand through the art of Charles Henry Howorth (1856-1945). Howorth represents a category of New Zealand artists that have been relatively ignored by art history and the purpose of this thesis is to explore the factors that have led to this disregard. This study will take into consideration the social factors that led to Howorth's success and eventual decline as well as the impact that the processes of art history and canonisation have had on his reputation. Howorth's position as an amateur artist is central to this study and an understanding of the special circumstances under which amateur artists operated during his lifetime is necessary. It is also important to understand that an appreciation of the traditional Romantic landscape paintings that were so popular during the nineteenth century continued through the turn of the twentieth century, and this helps to explain both Howorth's popularity in the annual art society exhibitions, as well as the level of stagnation that his paintings began to show. Important sources in this endeavour are the contemporary critical reviews published in local newspapers, for these critics supply an important insight into contemporary tastes and views while also revealing the shifts that were occurring in artistic appreciation. With the approach of Modernism during the 1920s New Zealand's art public was beginning to embrace a new artistic aesthetic - a mode of representation that was the antithesis of Howorth's artistic output. Howorth and his ilk were dismissed in subsequent art-historical texts for not meeting these new standards for art and his style of painting was termed outdated and representative of a lack of artistic development. Understanding the motives and methods of this depreciation is integral to appreciating this complex period in New Zealand art history.