Charles Blomfield
Castle Rock, Coromandel, sunrise, from the Mercury Bay track

Artwork Detail
Blomfield, a self-taught painter, first took up painting while on the Coromandel mining for gold in the late 1860s. Perhaps this scene is a memory from the time spent camping in the bush and exploring the area. The distinctive outline of Castle Rock, also known as the ‘Sleeping Giant’ for the recumbent visage its volcanic form takes, is silhouetted against the morning sky. In the foreground a pioneer accompanied by a packhorse makes his way along a track. The sides are lined with remnant tree stumps, suggesting it has been freshly cut into the bush. (Te Moananui a Kiwa, 2005)
- Title
- Castle Rock, Coromandel, sunrise, from the Mercury Bay track
- Artist/creator
- Production date
- 1888
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 495 x 762 mm
- Credit line
- Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of Mr A E T Devore, 1889
- Accession no
- 1889/2
- Other ID
- 0/16 Old Accession Number
- Copyright
- No known copyright restrictions
- Department
- New Zealand Art
- Display status
- Not on display
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