Morning, Wellington Wharves

Morning, Wellington Wharves may be a preparatory oil sketch for a larger work, Shipping, Wellington Harbour, now at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (1936-0023-2). This work and two others, by Archibald Nicoll and Nugent Welch, were commissioned by the Wellington Harbour Board. The three views were shown at the 1936 annual exhibition of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts held in conjunction with the opening of the National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum. Julie King has noted, ‘Thompson executed his work from the Harbour Board’s premises looking down on Queen’s Wharf, and presenting a close-up of the waterfront unlike the distant vistas chosen by Archibald Nicoll and Nugent Welch.’