PATITI POINT
William Ferrier (1855-1922)
Breakwater Timaru Running a Southerly Gale,1888
Oil on canvas
Algantighe Art Gallery Collection 2002.10
William Ferrier was bornin Edinburgh, Scotland, and immigrated to New Zealand in 1869. He trained as a photographer in Christchurch and Oamaru, and in 1881, set up his own studio in Timaru. Ferrier was the grandfather of the well-known New Zealand painter, Colin McCahon (1919-87), who was born in Timaru.
Ferrier is known for his success in documenting a vital part of Timaru's history on photographic film, but he was also a painter. His landscape paintings were exhibited with the South Canterbury Art Society, of which he was a founding member. He was also a member of the Otago Art Society and Canterbury Society of Arts.
Breakwater Timaru Running a Southerly Gale was produced from one of Ferrier's photographs (see reproduced above) This seascape, with its crashing waves and stormy skies shows the power of nature, and was a popular theme Ferrier returned to in both photography and painting.
