PROVENANCE
Exhibited: The Inaugural Exhibition of the Wellington Arts Club, Wellington, July 1883

James MacLauchlan Nairn was a Glasgow-born painter who along with Girolamo Pieri Pecci Ballati Nerli strongly influenced New Zealand painting in the late 19th century. He believed in en plein air or painting outdoors

Nairn studied at the Glasgow School of Art for four years from 1879 before enrolling as a student at the Académie Julian in Paris. During the 1880s he exhibited at the Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts and the Royal Scottish Academy and was associated with the Glasgow Boys - a group of Scottish artists interested in Impressionism

Nairn emigrated from Glasgow to Dunedin in 1890 moving north to Wellington in 1891, where he was appointed as an art instructor at the Wellington Technical School. He lectured on art and conducted classes for the study of the nude figure. He introduced Impressionism of the Glasgow school to New Zealand and influenced other New Zealand artists such as Dorothy Kate Richmond, Mabel Hill, Maude Burge and Mary Elizabeth Tripe.

Nairn joined the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts soon after settling in Wellington and was elected to the Council from 1890 to 1903. He also formed the Wellington Art Club which met regularly at Nairn's Pumpkin Cottage. The cottage became a gathering point for Wellington artists. Nairn's influence was felt throughout New Zealand as he regularly sent works for exhibition in other centres

He married Ellen Smith on 17 March 1898 and they had two daughters, Mari Bhan and Ellen May Victoria

He died at the age of 44 at his home in Wellington on 22 February 1904

Whilst he often worked in watercolour and oil on a small scale, this is a rare large example in oil