Figure

WILLIAM BUELOW GOULD Various species. Oil on canvas, 68.5 × 58.5 cm; c. 1840. A trophy painting in which a European Hare and Ring-necked Pheasant hang curing beside four poorly detailed native Australian birds: a Musk Lorikeet, Bassian Thrush (?) and Scarlet Robin dangle from a hook and a highly stylised rail or pigeon (?) lies curled on the shelf. The hare and pheasant are probably painted from memory. The hare was introduced to Tasmania in about 1839 but it did not establish at that time, and pheasants are thought to have first been imported into Australia in the late 1850s. W.B. Gould made several versions of this painting, which indicates that it was a successful formula. Such paintings aimed to show that Tasmania was a civilised place with abundant resources, and fed nostalgia for a former life. ART GALLERY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA