John Glover was born in England in 1767 and showed a talent for drawing at an early age. He was a successful landscape painter in England before migrating to Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) in 1831 where he bought land and set up a farm near Launceston. Glover’s Tasmanian landscapes demonstrate his liking for natural bushland and how he developed a new approach to capturing the effects of Australian sunlight. He worked outside using a palette of olive greens, misty greys and strong blues to depict the unique qualities of the native Australian environment.
A view of the artists house and garden, in Mills Plains, Van Diemen’s Land depicts Glover’s Patterdale farm at Deddington Northern Tasmania on a bright summer’s day. His shingle roofed stone house and wooden studio are surrounded by his flourishing garden. Glover brought plants and seeds with him on the long journey from England and planned the garden while on the ship. Today this wouldn’t be possible as Australia has one of the world’s strictest quarantine policies. Biosecurity legislation restricts the movement of living things to prevent the spread of pests and diseases between states in order to protect the environment.
Although Glover has delighted in presenting his (introduced) plants thriving, he has also depicted the natural bushland beyond the edges of the garden, showing the distinctive foliage of the Tasmanian manna gum tress.
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