Sold from The Grand Tour exhibition, Rouen Cathedral  by Thomas Cane who was born Brighton, England in 1830. He trained as an architect under Gilbert Scott. On arriving in Christchurch in 1874 he was given the position of Canterbury Provincial Architect which he held until the abolition of Provinces in 1876. Cane made his name as a leading Christchurch architect. Among buildings he designed were Corfe House at Christ’s College and Christchurch Girls’ High School, which later became the School of Art. Later still he was to design an extension for the University of Canterbury Library.

Throughout his lifetime Thomas Cane was recognised as a painter of lively watercolours townscapes and the countryside. He traveled back to Europe on several occasions during his life, where he did a number of watercolours of street scenes and churches that interested him. Thomas Cane died in Christchurch in 1905.

Exhibited:

Canterbury Society of Arts; 1881–1900

NZ & South Seas Exhibition, Dunedin 1889–90