Considered Australia's first native born significant artist, William Charles Piguenit was born in Hobart in 1830, the son of a convict who was transported to Van Dieman's Land. He is also considered the last true Romantic landscapist, preferring to focus on the dramatic moods in landscape as opposed to the Heidelberg School who presented Australia as an amiable sunny land.
The Upper Nepean 1889
The Flood Of The Darling 1895
The above oil on canvas was purchased by the Art Gallery of New South Wales immediately after it's completion.
Mt Ida, Lake St Clair
Piguenit appears to be largely self taught, and of particular interest to me is his background as a draughtsman with the Department of Lands survey office in Tasmania. So I'll claim fame by association as my background is as a draughtsman with the Victorian Lands Department.