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Essay |
It is now widely accepted that Augustus Earle (1793-1838) was the first independent, professionally trained artist to visit each of the five continents and record his experiences. He was not only highly prolific but talented, gregarious and adventuresome as well. Prior to this time, 'travel' artists had been attached to the various voyages of exploration that set off from Europe during the eighteenth century (such as those commanded by Captain James Cook) or had worked abroad under the auspices of wealthy, often aristocratic, patrons. Earle, however, had no such constraints and was fortunate to be able to combine his wanderlust with the ability to earn a living through art. The body of work he produced now comprises what is arguably a unique record documenting the effects of European contact and colonisation during the early nineteenth century. Earle chose to execute his impressions of places visited, and cultures and peoples encountered, almost exclusively in watercolour. This medium had been revolutionised in 1780 when Thomas and William Reeves introduced commercially prepared cakes or pans of watercolour whichunlike oil paintswere inexpensive, portable and easy to use. Born in London in 1793, the son of an American portrait painter, Earle revealed his talents at an early age and from 1806 exhibited with the Royal Academy. His first recorded works are historical subjects but he also undertook sketching trips outside London in search of local colour and scenery. He left England aboard a storeship in 1815 to visit Malta and the Mediterranean and soon after his return, in March 1818, set off for the United States of America. The fifty-one works selected for this exhibition trace Earle's subsequent journeys around the world between 1820 and 1829, with a particular emphasis on Brazil, Tristan da Cunha, New South Wales and New Zealand. These works have considerable artistic, historical and ethnographic significance. Often executed on the spot, they also have a freshness and immediacy that appeals greatly to contemporary audiences; moreover, Earle plays a key role in the colonial art history of many of the countries represented here. The watercolours are supplemented by a major oil painting apparently executed back in England, Meeting of the artist and Hongi at the Bay of Islands, November 1827 (cat. 51), as well as lithographs, publications and other related material. The main theme of the exhibition is Earle s continuous search for new and exotic subject matter, both to satisfy his own curiosity, and to form the basis of the panoramas, prints and publications through which he generated income. Additionally, he painted a series of works depicting life at sea such as Divine service on board a British frigate (cat. I) and Scudding before a heavy gale off the Cape, lat. 44º (cat. 4). Few artists then considered such routine occurrences were worthy of their attention and it was not until the second half of the nineteenth century that genre-type scenes on board ship gained popularity. |
![]() Punishing negroes at Cathabouco [Calobouco], Rio de Janeiro cat. 11 |
Although best known as a travel artist, Earle also painted oil portraits, historical and ethnographic subjects, and landscapes, executed lithographs, wrote several publications about his adventures, spent a short time attached to the survey vessel, HMS Beagle, and opened an art gallery while resident in Sydney. This exhibition thus touches on only one major aspect of his brief, multi-facetted career. |
Apart from the artworks themselves, the process of reconstructing Earle s j ourney is fraught with difficulty and relies mainly on his own published Narrative. [1] It would appear that he spent about eighteen months in the United States of America (no artworks survive), visiting mainly New York and Philadelphia. He then left for Rio de Janeiro, was in Chile by June 1820 (again, no artworks survive) and took up residence in Lima, the capital of Peru, between July and December that year. According to contemporary accounts, Lima was a beautiful, if somewhat dilapidated, city but Earle's only recorded works are a distant view (cat. 6) and a five-part panorama depicting the blockade of the neighbouring port, Callao, by Lord Thomas Cochrane (17751860) in November 1820 (not exhibited) . |
Earle returned to Rio de Janeiro aboard HMS Hyperion on 10 December, shortly after the blockade, and remained there for the next three years. The city was strategically placed on the southern shipping routes and its natural wonders and architecture had delighted travellers since the eighteenth century. Furthermore, colonisation and slavery had resulted in an exotic mix of races and customs. |
A total of nineteen Brazilian watercolours and two ink drawings is held by the National Library, several of which address the slavery issue: Punishing negroes at Cathabouco [Calobouco], Rio de Janiero (cat. 11) is a particularly horrific example. Others, however, are more light-hearted and in works such as Negro fandango scene, Campo St. Anna nr. Rio (cat. 9) and Games at Rio de Janeiro, during the Carnival (cat. 10) the artist reveals his fascination with the city's colourful streetlife. Earle also produced evocative landscapes like From the summit of the Cacavada [Corcovado] Mountains, nr. Rio (cat. 7) and a group of highly accomplished portraits, including A sleeping negro, BrazilsNo. 1 (cat. 12) and Female soldier of South America, a portrait (cat. 13). |
On 17 February 1824, against all advice, he left Rio aboard the decrepit Duke of Gloucester bound for the Cape of Good Hope, and thence Calcutta. The reason for his hasty departure was a letter containing the `most flattering offers of introduction to Lord Amherst, who had just left England to take upon himself the government of India'. [2] |
Storms forced the ship to anchor off Tristan da Cunha, a remote island in the middle of the Atlantic, and attracted by the idea that `this was a spot hitherto unvisited by any artist' [3] Earle went ashore with his dog and a crew member, Thomas Gooch. His despair when the Duke of Gloucester inexplicably set sail three days later, and disappeared over the horizon (presumably carrying a number of his artworks as well as other possessions), can only be imagined. |
Despite two earlier attempts, Tristan da Cunha had remained uninhabited until 1816 when the island group was formally annexed by a garrison from Great Britain. The troops left the following year but one member, Corporal William Glass (later known as `Governor'), chose to stay behind together with his wife, Maria, whom he had married in Cape Town. At the time of Earle's arrival, there were six permanent adult inhabitants and several children to whom he became tutor. |
The sixteen surviving works from this period include Government House, Tristan D'Acunha (cat. 14), which was also reproduced in his Narrative, and an informal group portrait depicting all the adult inhabitants (plus Earle and Gooch) gathered around the dinner table, Governor Glass & his companions (cat. 16). Other works such as Flinching a young sea elephant (cat. 17) record aspects of daily life on the island. Moreover, Earle executed some remarkable atmospheric studies as well as the romantic view entitled Solitude (cat. 15), a representation of the artist and his dog, Jemmy, `watching the horizon at Sunset in hopes of seeing a Vessel'. [4] |
Earle was rescued finally on 29 November by the Admiral Cockburn and reached Hobart, whence the ship was bound, on 18 January 1825. Despite remaining there for several months, only a handful of works, including June Park, Van Dieman's [sic] Land, perfect park scenery (cat. 19), have been recorded from this period. Earle then set sail for Sydney where he gained a certain amount of acceptance within local `society' (Governor Brisbane was a friend of his half-brother) and decided to apply for a land grant. Although this was denied, due to his lack of capital, he soon established a reputation as the colony's foremost artist and also made several excursions to outlying areas of New South Wales. |
![]() A native camp of Australian savages cat. 21 |
The watercolours executed there fall mainly into three categories: landscapes, Aboriginal subjects, and a series of views of public and private buildings that self-consciously record the `progress' made in the colony under British occupation. The last include Government House & part of the town of Sidney [sic] (cat. 30) and A female penitentiary, Paramatta [sic], N.S. Wales (cat. 29). Towards the end of 1826 Earle visited the Blue Mountains, Bathurst and the Wellington Valley where he produced such works as View from the summit of Mount York, N.S. Wales (cat. 25), a very rare representation of convicts, and Mosmans Cave, Wellington Valley, N.S. Wales No. 3 (cat. 26). He also travelled north of Sydney via the Hunter River as far as Port Stephens and Port Macquarie and, between April and May 1827, went to the Illawarra district. His action-packed Skirmish, bush rangers & constables, Ilawarra [sic] (cat. 27), dates from this latter excursion. |
Surprisingly, Earle showed little interest in the Australian Aborigines, declaring that `they have neither energy, enterprise, nor industry; and their curiosity can scarcely be excited'. [5] (This attitude contrasts with his enthusiastic endorsement of the Maoris whom he met during his visit to New Zealand.) He was, however, clearly sympathetic towards their plight and the frieze-like study, A native camp of Australian savages (cat. 21 ), provides a chilling reminder that subjugation had already spread well beyond the Sydney environs; individual portraits like A woman of New South Wales (cat. 23) and Desmond, a New South Wales chief (cat. 24) are also imbued with dignity. Moreover, A native family of N.S. Wales (cat. 22), which depicts a dispossessed Aboriginal group taking up camp beside a settler's farmhouse, has long been recognised as one of the most poignant images executed in Australia during the nineteenth century. |
It would appear that Earle's disenchantment also extended to the European inhabitants of the colony and, apart from commissioned portraits, he produced few records of its social life and customs. One notable exception, however, is the lithograph, View from the Sydney Hotel. [6] |
Eventually, on 20 October 1827, Earle left Sydney aboard the Governor Macquarie to visit New Zealand, where he had `hopes of finding something new for my pencil in their peculiar and picturesque style of life'. [7] Although not the first artist to go therepredecessors included Sydney Parkinson (c.174571 ), William Hodges (174497 ) and John Webber (175193)he was certainly the first to take up residence. |
Links between New South Wales and New Zealand had developed soon after 1788 and by the time of Earle's arrival there was a flourishing export trade in kauri spars, whale oil and preserved Maori heads. Also, in 1814, the Sydney clergyman and trader, Samuel Marsden (17641838), persuaded the Church Missionary Society in London to set up a mission station at Rangihoua on the Bay of Islands, and personally supervised its establishment . |
![]() A tabood store house, Bay of Islands cat. 34 |
Although European contact changed New Zealand irrevocably, it nevertheless remained a pre-colonial society until 1840 and only a handful of pakeha, mainly associated with the whaling, flax, timber and shipbuilding industries, and the mission stations, were permitted to settle there. During the 1820s, this contact was confined to the Hokianga and the Bay of Islands area. However, profound changes took place over the next decade as chiefs were caught up in an exchange of European goods for provisions and services, as well as patronage, and patterns of settlement were adapted accordingly. |
![]() A New Zealander cat. 41 |
Earle disembarked at Hokianga Harbour on the west coast of the North Island, accompanied by his friend Mr Shand, and resolved to make his way overland to the Bay of Islands. The two men set out on 7 November and upon arrival at Kororareka came under the patronage of Shulitea [or `King George'], `a chief of great power, who controlled the whole of the district where we were'. [8] Unshackled by convention, Earle was able to assimilate himself at least partially into Maori culture and to establish close links with the people whom he encountered. He also made a concerted attempt to learn the language. Conversely, he had nothing but contempt for the missionaries associated with the Church Missionary Society (the Wesleyans were judged less harshly) and remarks made to this effect in his Narrative later caused great consternation. |
![]() Midshipmens quarters on board a ship of war cat. 2 |
While Earle admired the war-like qualities displayed by his hosts, he was threatened on several occasions and only made his way back to Hokianga with great difficulty. Fortunately, he arrived in time to contact the Governor Macquarie and departed from New Zealand in April 1828. |
The thirty-seven watercolours and drawings from Earle's New Zealand sojourn have particular significance. He painted the Deptford Dockyard at Horeke on the Hokianga, owned by Sydney merchants (cat. 43), as well as highly romantic compositions like Scene in Paroa Bay, Bay of Islands (cat. 37), and Distant view of the Bay of Islands (cat. 33). However, his chief interest lay in depicting Maori culture. Several works, including A tabood store house, Bay of Islands (cat. 34) and The residence of a New Zealand chief (cat. 38), document daily village life while the effects of warfare are examined in New Zealand warriors and their Queen Trurero (cat. 39). This closely observed contact extends to such portraits as A New Zealander (cat. 41) and Amoko, a New Zealand girl (cat. 40) as well as the oil painting and lithograph he later produced of his meeting with Hongi Hika, a leading warrior chief, at Kororareka in November 1827 (cat. 51). |
Earle then spent several months back in Sydney before departing on 12 October 1828, bound for India. The introduction to his Narrative states he travelled via the Caroline Islands, Guam, one of the Ladrones, Manilla, Sincapoor and Pulo-Penang, [9] before disembarking at Madras. Only a few works survive from this voyage including Umatak [Umatac], Island of Guam (cat. 44), A woman of the Mariannas or Ladrone Islands (cat. 45) and Malacca (cat. 46) . |
As the Narrative further relates, `at Madras he acquired both fame and money; and during his short stay there executed the original drawings of that Presidency, which have been since copied and exhibited as a Panorama, by Messrs. Daniell and Parris. While in the zenith of his celebrity, his health unfortunately declined, and he was advised to leave India with as little delay as possible; and, feeling convinced his life depended on his speedy departure, he immediately went down to Pondicherry'. [10] |
Earle caught two further boats back to England travelling via Mauritius, where he executed a panorama, and St Helena, and finally arrived home in late 1829. He wasted no time in capitalising on his experiences abroad and published an eight-part series of Sydney views as well as an illustrated account of New Zealand and Tristan da Cunha. A series of New Zealand views also appeared in 1838. [11] Towards the end of 1831 Earle again left England, this time as a draughtsman aboard the survey ship, HMS Beagle, but after a brief period in South America, was forced to resign due to ill health. He went back to London and died at his residenceapparently aloneon 10 December 1838. |
One of the highlights of the collections in the National Library of Australia is a group of 161 watercolours and drawings by Augustus Earle. The fact that they have a well documented history further increases their importance. After Earle's death, the works passed to his half-brother, Admiral Henry Smyth, and thence to the latter's grandson before being auctioned by Sotheby & Co. in London in May 1926. They were bought shortly afterwards by the New Zealand-born art dealer and collector, Sir Rex Nan Kivell whose collection of Australasian and Paciflc material was acquired for the National Library of Australia in several stages between the 1940s and the 1970s, initially by purchase and later by gift. |
The auction catalogue reveals that the works were originally mounted in an `old folio scrapbook', with an accompanying manuscript list of numbers and titles. This format suggests that they may have been intended for publication, either as book illustrations or as a volume of prints, similar to previous initiatives by Earle; moreover, there is evidence that he was preparing another travel account entitled `A voyage round the world' prior to his untimely death. (The uneven representation of his various ports of call in the collection raises the possibility that many examples were either lost or destroyed prior to the artist's return to England.) |
Other works by Earle are held by the Mitchell Library, Sydney, the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, the British Museum, London, and the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, as well as by private collectors; however, this group of works in the National Library of Australia is by far the most extensive and significant. |
![]() Native of the Island of Tucopeia cat. 42 |
Our knowledge about the artist owes a great debt to the research of such scholars as E.H. McCormick, Harold Spencer, Eve Buscombe, Anthony Murray-Oliver and Jocelyn Hackforth-Jones, whose monograph, Augustus Earle, travel artist (Canberra: National Library of Australia, 1980), focused specifically on the National Library of Australia's collection. |
Footnotes[1] Augustus Earle, A narrative of a nine months' residence in New Zealand in 1827; together with a journal af a residence in Tristaa D'Acunha, an island situated between South America and the Cape of Good Hope London Longman, 1832.[2] Ibid., p. vi. [3] Ibid., p. 291. [4] Inscribed on previous mount, not in Earle's hand but possibly under his direction. [5] Earle, op. Cit., p. 259. [6] Published in Earle's, Views in Australia. Sydney, 1826. [7] Earle, A narrative of a nine months' residence in New Zealand ..., p. 271. [8] Ibid., p. 54. [9] Ibid., p. viii. [10] Ibid., p. viii-ix. [11] Augustus Earle, Views in New South Wales, and Van Diemen's Land: Australian scrap book, 1830. London J Cross, 1830; Augustus Earle, Sketches illustrative of the native inhabitants and islands of New Zealand, from original drawings. London: New Zealand Association, 1838. |
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