Untitled (Four masted barque under sail)
Date1860s -1914
Object number00045521
NamePainting
MediumWatercolour on paper
DimensionsOverall: 440 × 305 mm
Mount / Matt size (B Fini mount): 560 × 407 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis watercolour is from the collection of Captain William Collin who lived and worked in Queensland from 1862 until his death in 1914. Frederick Elliot worked as a lithographic artist at the Government Printing Office between 1896 and about 1903 and it is likely that this work was done during this period. His watercolours are characterised by a high key and strong atmospheric effects. He exhibited his work in the Queensland National Association’s exhibitions, with the Queensland Art Society and after he moved to Sydney, with the NSW Society of Artists.HistoryCaptain William Collin (1834-1914) was born in England, went to sea, and was shipwrecked off north Queensland in 1854. He settled in Sydney until 1862 when he moved to Queensland and operated barges in the coastal trade. He also became a well-known salvage operator and shipbreaker. He is regarded as a pioneer of the Queensland coastal and river trade, and one of his most notable achievements was to mark the passage through Torres Strait with buoys, for the Queensland Government. His reminiscences published in 1914 are an important source for the social and commercial history of early Queensland.
Frederick Elliott was born in 1864 in Paignton, near Brixham, Devon. He travelled to Australia in 1876 with his father Alfred Elliott, who was a teacher at Humpybong, near Redcliffe, Queensland. Frederick Elliott worked as a lithographic artist for the Queensland Government Printing Office between 1896 and about 1903 and it is likely that this work was done during this period. His active period was 1890-1930. He was a prolific artist, painting almost invariably in watercolours, occasionally in oils. He specialised in marine watercolour studies, travelling up and down the coast by ship and sketching scenes that he later turned into paintings. Elliott was active in Sydney from the 1890s to the 1920s, mainly painting Sydney Harbour (more correctly known as Port Jackson, NSW), including views and individual ships. His watercolours are characterised by a high key and strong atmospheric effects. He showed his paintings infrequently in the Queensland National Association’s exhibitions and with the Queensland Art Society and the NSW Society of Artists. He signed his paintings “F. Elliott” and in this case 'Fred Elliott'. He died in Paddington, Sydney 1/3/1949
![Walking stick of Captain William Collin [1834 - 1914]](/internal/media/dispatcher/55554/thumbnail)
