Samuel Charles Farr (1827-1918) was born in England and arrived in Akaroa on the ship Monarch in 1850.
He was an amateur artist who painted many scenes of Banks Peninsula.
He exhibited a painting as early as 1856. However, he did not aspire to be a professional artist. ‘I only paint at my leisure to amuse myself’ (S. C. Farr, letter to the editor, Press, 19/02/1870, p.2.), he wrote, although he regularly showed his paintings at public exhibitions.
Akaroa Museum has four paintings by Farr. One painting shows a coastal view from Pigeon Bay. An early oil on board depicts a beach, the Victoria Hotel and a red ensign flying over Greens Point. A man stands near where the Akaroa Boating Club building now stands.
Greens Point, Akaroa, showing Victoria Hotel. S. C. Farr, oil paint on board, 1850s-60s. Akaroa Museum collection. Donated by Fiona Macbean Aiken.
Two paintings overlook Akaroa and northwards to Childrens Bay from a hillside vantage.
One includes three Māori figures, their backs to us, also looking at the same view. Tree stumps, sheep, a mixture of grassland and forested hillsides, and the buildings of the town below indicate the progress of settlers.
Akaroa. S. C. Farr, oil paint on canvas, undated. Akaroa Museum collection. Donated by Max Waghorn.