Ernest Decimus Stocks 1840–1921

Ernest Stocks worked mainly watercolour, with the majority of his works comprising of landscapes that included not only Victorian views but also those as far west as Perth, Western Australia and as far north as the Whitsunday Islands.

Stocks' enthusiasm for travelling is demonstrated in magnificent views of Sydney and Adelaide as well as stunning mountain scenery in Tasmania and New Zealand. The Victorian views included the meticulously painted Buninyong from Bowen Hill near Ballarat, as well as views of Geelong and the surrounding district and scenic views around Shepparton. The Campaspe at Clare Inn and Buninyong from Bowen Hill are amongst the earliest of Stocks’ surviving paintings.

The exhibition also included works that were painted for proud home owners who wished to have their modest weatherboard cottages or their grand villas, recorded for posterity. Stocks also painted public buildings, churches, mining works and the properties of wealthy landowners providing lasting documentation of Australia during the nineteenth century.

Ernest Decimus Stocks 1840–1921, was part of Geelong Gallery's series of exhibitions held by the that featured the works of little-known colonial artists of Geelong and Victoria’s Western District.