Provenance:
Commissioned by the late Thomas Bannatyne Gillies in 1877, held in the same family collection since

In this historical watercolour of a 19th Century Auckland Domain both artist, Alfred Sharpe and patron, Thomas Bannatyne Gillies were united in their affection and vested interest relating to Auckland's oldest park and its surrounds.

Scottish born Thomas Bannatyne Gillies (1828 -1889) settled in Otago in 1854. An articled solicitor who had practiced law in Manchester, Gillies tried his hand at farming in Warepa, only to return the profession he was better suited to. Turning his talents to politics he was elected to the House of Representatives. In 1865 Gillies moved to Auckland and was elected to the House of Representatives for Auckland City East. At one time he held the post of Superintendent of Auckland and in 1875 succeeded Sir George Arney as Judge of the Supreme Court for the Northern District.

Beyond his public career, Gillies was a man of wide and varied interests. In 1868, with Professor Hutton and J. C. Crawford, he founded the Auckland Institute, later donating £500 towards purchasing the site for Auckland Museum. Around 1866 Gillies was overseeing the construction of a palatial home, Rocklands Hall situated at 187 Gillies Avenue (named after him). Set in what was then open farmland, Rocklands Hall was once a centre for hunting on horseback. The major addition of a ballroom was made in 1889 and Gillies imported many exotic trees and plants for the gardens. Today the 'grand old dame' designed by architect John Currie (1849 - 1919) is a student hostel.

In commissioning Alfred Sharpe (1836 - 1908) to paint Auckland Domain, Gillies exhibited sound judgement. By the 1870's Sharpe was acknowledged as one of he colony's leading artists. In 1858 he had emigrated from England, arriving in Auckland where he eventually settled. During the 1870s Alfred Sharpe exhibited large-scale watercolours with the newly founded Auckland Society of Artists and at venues in Wellington, Sydney and Melbourne.

The Auckland Domain was a familiar and favoured subject of the artist and in March 1877 an article in the Star newspaper reports: Mr Alfred Sharpe has added a beautiful and highly-finished picture of the 'picnic ground in the Domain' ...... the picture does the artist great credit ...' Writing to a Melbourne based colleague in October 1878 Sharpe says: I have been fully occupied during my spare time since our last exhibition, last November - 1877 - in painting to orders.

In the Gillies commission we see Sharpe at his distinctive best, the viewer partakes of a timeless Victorian scene set in what was destined to become one of Auckland most important landmarks. This is a historical work of consequence.

Reference:
The Art of Alfred Sharpe - Roger Blackley Auckland City Art Gallery / Bateman 1992