John Loxton-Pioneer Cottage Arrowtown

John Loxton-Pioneer Cottage Arrowtown

Oil painting framed size 580mm x 680mm 

John Loxton (1903 – 1969) is an Australian artist, considered one of the country’s best landscape painters. He was born in Adelaide and moved to Melbourne as a young man to study at Swinburne Technical College and later, the art school of the Australian National Gallery.

At these two institutions, Loxton developed an eye for landscape and honed his talent for reproducing them in both watercolour and oil paints. He exhibited consistently in Australia from 1937 onwards – painting full-time from 1946 – and became well entrenched in the local arts scene as a member of multiple artist societies and as president of the prestigious Fellowship of Australian Artists, a role he held for fourteen years.

Loxton first travelled to New Zealand in 1946. He came to the Rangitata region to paint the scenery, which he described as “mouth watering” to a Wellington newspaper in January 1946. Following this visit, Loxton was inspired to travel further afield, going to the UK and Europe in 1948-50. Whilst there, he mounted several solo exhibitions showcasing the landscapes of the Southern Hemisphere to enthusiastic audiences in London, and also presented his work at the Royal Academy, alongside Europe’s top artists.