ARTWORK HISTORY:
Our family is very much into "the Arts" in all it's forms, from music to art to chinaware and even classic old (quality) technology!
Our focus has always been landscapes, both Australian and New Zealand as we have connections with both countries but over the years our walls have become overcrowded with artworks and although we love just about every painting we have, it's time to hang some new acquisitions and sadly this NZ oil painted by Peter Long must now leave home!
As a young lad back in the 1970's, I bought two of these Peter Long paintings as I spent a lot time in the Timaru/Canterbury and Otago areas - these landscapes bring back memories and will be very meaningful to those who know these areas.
You can view the other Peter Long artwork that I have HERE
PETER LONG:
Based himself in Timaru and he painted landscapes of the South Canterbury, Otago areas. His style is very bold, quite stark and can be quite "dark" in aspect. He is painting a wilderness where "soft and pretty" does not fit! The country is rugged, spectacular and at the same time it can be foreboding.
I have been informed (not confirmed info though) that Peter passed away in 2011.
He did have a nice professional studio set up in Timaru but I cannot find much information about him in the "art circles" of New Zealand, he seemed to keep pretty much to himself.
I have discovered that he did paint quite a number of landscape paintings, (at least 12 that I have found) but I wouldn't describe him as a prolific painter.
SUBJECT OF THE PAINTING:
Birchwood Station was a sheep run, almost 24,000 hectares! The area contains beautiful, raw, unspoilt alpine scenery, with the Ahuriri River running along the bottom of the Ahuriri valley. In 2004, the NZ Government purchased the station for conservation reasons and today it is a wonderful spot for fly fishing, nature walks (very long) and admiring the amazing alpine scenery, forests etc
Here is a rough outline of the Ahuriri River flow path
PETER LONG - Ahuriri River Near Birchwood Station North Otago
Original Oil on board
Peter's distinctive signing is on the lower left hand side (Red)
Artwork measurements: 285mm wide x 185mm high
Frame measurements: 390mm wide x 290mm high
Frame is solid timber but I am unsure which type of tree. It doesn't look like Pine, perhaps a Cedar?
Artwork is clean
HOWEVER, there is one small fault which must be bought to your attention!
Look at the closeup photograph (no frame) and in the centre, down a little near the river flow there looks to be a couple of paint flakes missing. I am not too sure but that's what it looks like to me.
There are no other faults observed with the artwork.
The very nice wooden frame is in very good condition although it has a couple of "rub" marks to the top sealant - if this really bothered you, a quick light sanding (protecting the artwork of course) and spot application of some satin sealant should fix this cosmetic issue.
To make it easier for shipping (as I expect this will go back to NZ to a new home) the hanging eyelets and cord have been removed - the new owner will need to fix a new hanging cord to the rear timber.
Shipping is no problem, we take great care in packing especially delicate items such as this painting.
