Pinchgut
Date1925
Object number00038524
NamePainting
MediumOil on board, gilded timber frame
DimensionsOverall: 450 x 765 x 45 mm, 2.76 kg
Copyright© Allcot Trust
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionOil painting on board by John Allcot depicting Fort Denison on Pinchgut Island, with the US battleship CALIFORNIA and seven other ships of an American fleet moored near Garden Island. It was likely painted during the fleets good will visit to Sydney during July 1925.
HistoryAfter European settlement in Australia, Pinchgut Island was used a site of convict punishment and then constructed into Fort Denison, as a point of defense for the harbour. The island is now a well recognised historic site in Sydney.
America sent a Navy fleet to visit Australia as a gesture of good will in 1925, the first such visit since the 1908 Great White Fleet. The presence of the battleship CALIFORNIA and six other ships in Sydney Harbour was an exercise in peacetime solidarity and cooperation between America and Australia. The fleet received an enthusiastic welcome from Sydneysiders, with a number of social activities and functions being organised in their honour.
SignificancePainting scenes of Sydney Harbour has continually proved to be popular with artists and this image by Allcot is representative of the peacetime cooperation between Australia and America in 1925.
