Pumpkin Cottage at Silverstream was the nurturing ground of a nationally significant impressionist movement.

For about 50 years, Pumpkin Cottage was a retreat for bohemian artists to paint, discuss and develop a unique New Zealand style of impressionism and the new idea of painting outside ‘en plein air’

Impressionist painter James Nairn (1859 -1904) first rented the cottage in Upper Hutt in about 1895. Its proximity to Wellington attracted other significant early artists such as Mabel Hill, Frances Hodgkins and Dorothy Kate Richmond. Nairn and his fellow bohemian artists rebelled against what they regarded as the insincere and academic romantic landscape imagery popular at the end of the 19th century. Instead, they worked ‘en plein air’ (in the open air), using a wide brushed painterly technique and bright colours - cerulean blue, peacock green and yellow – to capture the New Zealand light.

Nairn’s efforts to unite these modern artists helped redefine New Zealand painting.

It didn’t take long for impressionism to reach New Zealand. Impressionism was a significant art movement which began in Paris in the 1870s and spread to Britain, Europe, and Australia by the 1880s. The impressionists valued the originality and freshness achieved from painting quickly and directly from the subject.

Some of the Wellington Art Club members, who were known as Pumpkin Cottage artists included James Nairn, Mabel Hill, John Baillie, H.M. Gore, Maurice Crompton-Smith and Mary Elizabeth Tripe (neé Richardson). Impressionists from Christchurch and Dunedin including Alfred Walsh, W.M. Gibb, Frances Hodgkins and Girolamo Nerli all visited their Wellington counterparts.

Taking its name from the salons of the 19th century where dozens of artworks were hung together on the walls as part of academic competitions, the Pumpkin Cottage: Salon presents the Pumpkin Cottage Collection in its entirety; in one bohemian hang.

To view the detail of each artwork please use the iPads provided; touch on each image to see the full story behind each artwork.
Or use your own device to open exhibitions.expressions.org.nz

Local art collectors Ernest and his wife Shirley gifted 39 Pumpkin Cottage paintings to Expressions Whirinaki Trust for the people of Upper Hutt in 2009 and the works have been in the Centre's safe keeping ever since. These significant Pumpkin Cottage paintings are the City's first permanent art collection which continues to grow thanks to several generous gifts.