User:Hesperian/Westall

[Intro]

Background
In 1801, William Westall was appointed landscape artist to a voyage of exploration of Australia, in the HMS Investigator under Matthew Flinders. At just 19 years of ago, Westall was the youngest member of a scientific team that included the botanist Robert Brown and the botanical artist Ferdinand Bauer.

After landfalls at Madeira and Cape Colony, the Investigator reached south-western Australia in December 1801. After staying several weeks in King George Sound, the ship was sailed eastwards along the south coast, making a thorough coastal survey and regular landfalls. After wintering at Port Jackson, the voyage was continued northwards along the east coast, then around Cape York and into the Gulf of Carpentaria. In March 1803, however, the poor state of the ship and crew made it necessary for the voyage to be temporarily called off. The Investigator was sailed to the nearest port, Koepang in Timor; then shortly afterwards sailed back to Port Jackson via the west and south coasts of Australia. On arriving back at Port Jackson the Investigator was condemned, and Flinders sailed for England to ask for a new ship. Westall sailed with him. In August 1803 the ship in which they were sailing was wrecked on Wreck Reef. The passengers, including Westall, were marooned on the reef for nearly two months while Flinders sailed the ship's cutter back to Port Jackson for help. When help arrived in October it was in the form of two ships; one was to return to Sydney, the other was en route to China. Westall chose to board the latter. From China, Westall wrote a letter to Joseph Banks, expressing his disappointment with Australian landscapes, and stating his intention to travell on to India in search of better material to draw, rather than returning to England. This he did not have permission to do, and therefore his contract with the Admiralty was terminated.

About 150 drawings survive of Westall's work during the voyage. In his letter to Banks, Westall implies that many drawings were lost on Wreck Reef, and two of his descendents have supported this view, but several other scholars reject this. They contend that Westall produced very little work to begin with, and that all or nearly all of it has survived. This is a common source of criticism levied against Westall: his output is described as "paltry", especially when compared with that of Bauer, who produced over 2000 drawings; and Westall himself is characterised as a defeatist whinger who lacked the work ethic to overcome his disappointment with Australian landscapes.

[Analysis of Westall's output e.g. artistic licence, choice of subject, picturesque tradition]

Provenance
Westall's contract stated that he was to hand all of his field drawings over to the Admiralty, but that the Admiralty would return them to him once they were no longer needed. Thus Westall's drawings remained in his possession until his death, when they passed down to his children, mostly his son Robert.

In 1889 Robert Westall sold 107 of Westall's field drawings to the Royal Colonial Institute (now the Royal Commonwealth Society), and shortly afterwards Westall's eldest son William donated four more.

In 1962 they were exhibited in London and published in a book. Seven years later they were sold to the National Library of Australia.

Nearly all drawings are numbered, and these numbers correspond to a numbered list of sketches amongst the Banks Papers held by the State Library of New South Wales. Titles given here are those used by the National Library of Australia, as based on this list.

Drawings
Cape of Good Hope: View south-east from above Wynberg Pencil and wash 17.8 × 26 cm 16 October – 4 November 1801 Inscribed "Near Vineburgh".

This is a view from Wynberg, looking south-east over the Cape Flats towards the Stellenbosch and Hottentots Holland Mountains. The farmhouse in the middle ground is Oude Wynberg.

Cape of Good Hope, view at the foot of Table Mountain (north-east side) Pencil 17.8 × 26.1 cm 16 October – 4 November 1801 Inscribed "In Capetown".

Perry (1962) describes this drawing as showing "late eighteenth-century houses in Cape Town", and suggest that it was drawn from near the top of present-day Plein Street in Cape Town. Elizabeth Findlay describes it as "one of the best of [Westall's] architectural sketches", noting how Westall "conscientiously employs the rules of perspective".

Cape of Good Hope, view north-west from Fish Hoek Bay Pencil 18 × 26.1 cm 16 October – 4 November 1801

This is a view looking north-west from a knoll about 320 m west of the present-day Fish Hoak railway station. It looks over the ridge containing the famous Peers and Tunnel Caves, towards the mountains. The three peaks shown here are, from left to right, Chapman's Peak, Noordhoek Peak and Constantiaberg. The valley on the right is Silvermine Valley.

Cape of Good Hope, farm on Kirstenbosch at the foot of Table Mountain Pencil 17.8 × 26 cm 16 October – 4 November 1801

This is described by John Rourke as the most interesting of Westall's drawings at the Cape, being probably the earliest surviving picture of the original homestead at Kirstenbosch, now a famous botanical garden. It depicts a double-storey farmhouse with a thatched roof. In the background is the southeast side of Table Mountain, with Window Gorge in the centre, and Fernhood Buttress on the right.

Cape of Good Hope, Orange Kloof on Table Mountain [1] Pencil 26.3 × 18 cm 16 October – 4 November 1801

Described by Elizabeth Findlay as "a beautiful and accomplished picture, showing intricate cross-hatching and pencil strokes painstakingly layered upon each other to build up subtle variations in light and shade", this view depicts a waterfall in a gorge, probably high up in the Orange Kloof. The foreground shows precise rendering of plants and rocks, and two small figures in the bottom left give a sense of scale.

Cape of Good Hope, Orange Kloof on Table Mountain [2] Pencil 26.1 × 17.8 cm 16 October – 4 November 1801

Like the previous drawing, this appears to depict a waterfall and gorge high up in the Orange Kloof.

Cape of Good Hope, Table Mountain Pencil 27 × 40.4 cm 16 October – 4 November 1801

This has been very tentatively identified as a view from Hout Bay. No closer identification is possible, as the cloven peak to the left of the main butte does not resemble any peak in the area. Perry (1962) calls this an "attempt to 'improve' nature and obtain an effect".

South Coast: Cape Leeuwin, Cape Chatham and Eclipse Isles Pencil 27 × 40.4 cm 7–8 November 1801

This is Westall's first drawing of Australia, and the first of 27 topographic sketches of the Australian coast. There are five separate sketches on a single sheet, three of which are labelled "Cape Leeuwin", "Cape Chatham" and "Eclipse Isles".

This sketch would later be worked up into a watercolour entitled Views on the South Coast of Australia; and the engraving entitled Views on the South Coast of Terra Australis, published as Plate 17 of Flinders' A Voyage to Terra Australis, would be based in part upon it. According to the watercolour, Cape Leeuwin was sketched on the morning of 7 December 1801; Cape Chatham on the morning of 8 December; and the Eclipse Isles in the evening of 8 December.

Speaking generally of Westall's coastal profiles, rather than specifically of this drawing, Findlay emphasises their utilitarian nature: they were made not for aesthetic purposes but as proof of priority of discovery of the land, and for the navigational benefit of future sailors on those coasts. Bernard Smith calls them "the high-water mark of profile drawing as far as the Pacific is concerned. To the accurate statement of detail and clarity of contour so necessary to this practical art Westall has added a feeling for atmosphere, and an aerial perspective that suggests the mass and depths of headlands, and the relative distance of hinterland hills and mountains.

King George's Sound: View from the North-west Pencil and wash 16 × 26.7 cm December 1801

This is a view looking south-east from the summit of Mount Clarence, showing the Investigator passing through what is now Attaturk Entrance into Princess Royal Harbour. In the foreground is a billycan and two guns leaning against a rock. Plants depicted include several small Xanthorrhoea preissii grasstrees; and a tall shrub, possibly a Banksia. Geographic features depicted are shown in the schematic diagram on the right.

King George's Sound, part of Oyster Harbour Pencil and wash 17.6 × 25 cm December 1801

Notwithstanding the title, this drawing shows the view from a location just below the present-day centre of Albany. As Flinders set up an observatory in the vicinity, this drawing very likely represents the view from the observatory. The hill on the left is Quarantine Hill on Vancouver Peninsula; though it looks like part of the foreground in this picture, it is actually on the far side of Attaturk Entrance, which cannot be seen here. The water that can be seen is part of Shoal Bay, and the hills on the horizon are Torndirrup. The trees in the foreground are probably Corymbia calophylla (Marri).

The erroneous "part of Oyster Harbour" in the title was apparently added by Perry and Simpson, who wrongly thought that it was drawn in the gully of the King River.

King George's Sound, view on the peninsula to the north of Peak Head Pencil and wash 18.7 × 27 cm. December 1801

Though inscribed "Dec. 1801, King George's Sound, looking north.", this is actually a view eastwards along Flinders Peninsula from Isthmus Hill. The plant in the foreground has been described by Elizabeth Findlay as a fallen branch, and hence evidence of the "typical directness" of Westall's drawings, in that he did not try to tidy up the landscape. However Alex George describes it as a sprawling shrub, possibly Banksia verticillata. The middle ground shows the narrowest part of Flinders Peninsula, where the waters of King George Sound (left) are separated from Isthmus Bay in the Southern Ocean (right) only by a sandy isthmus. In the background is the head of Flinders Peninsula, with Limestone Head sticking out on the left, and Bald Head on the right; the latter is somewhat truncated. Breaksea Island can be seen on the left horizon.

King George's Sound, view from Peak Head Pencil and wash 15.7 × 27 cm December 1801.

This is a view in a north-north-westerly direction from Peak Head, looking across Torndirrup and Vancouver Peninsula to the mainland. The shrubs in the left and middle foreground are probably Anthocercis viscosa and Banksia verticillata respectively, though Elizabeth Findlay interprets the latter as a fallen branch. Geographic features depicted are shown in the schematic diagram on the right.

This drawing would later be the basis for Westall's 1809–12 oil painting Part of King George III Sound, on the South Coast of New Holland, December 1801, and hence also the 1814 John Byrne engraving View from the South Side of King George's Sound, first published in Flinders' A Voyage to Terra Australis. These later pictures, though copying the coastal features of the background very faithfully, contain a substantially reworked foreground. Westall places two Australian Aborigines around a campfire in the centre foreground, and completely alters the foreground vegetation. The shrub on the left becomes a Macrozamia riedlei; the shrub in the centre is shown covered in Banksia flower spikes, thus confirming it as B. verticillata. Immediately to the right of the Banksia Westall introduces the Eucalyptus from his drawing Spencer Gulf: Eucalyptus; then the Kingia australis from his Port Jackson: Grass Trees drawing; and finally a group of Xanthorrhoea preissii near the right edge.

Westall has been heavily criticised for the degree of artistic licence taken in altering the drawing in the oil painting and engraving, though not all of it is justified. Elizabeth Findlay, who interprets the drawing's centre vegetation as a fallen branch, remarks on how it has "sprouted banksia flowers" in the oil painting, though this is largely unobjectionable given Alex George's identification of it as a sprawling Banksia shrub. Findlay also criticises Westall for appropriating vegetation from drawings made in other places. This is justified in the case of the Spencer Gulf Eucalyptus, but the Kingia australis grass tree taken from the drawing Port Jackson: Grass Trees is in fact a King George Sound native, and does not occur in Port Jackson.

King George's Sound, a native Pencil 25.6 × 16.7 cm. 30 December 1801(?) Inscribed "K. George's S."

Brown's diary for 30 December 1801 records ""The old man & the middle aged stout man with a name we supposd was Warena allowed themselves, especially the latter, to be measured with the greatest patience tho it took up nearly an hour. Mr Westal shewd Warena his own figure wch he had drawn. He appeard pleased and bar'd his body to the waist that Mr W might be able to finish his work."" Since King George's Sound, a native is the only depiction of a King George Sound Australian Aborigine amongst Westall's extant drawings, it is sometimes assumed to show Warena, though it has also been noted that the man in Westall's drawing does not match Brown's description of Warena.

Lucky Bay Pencil and wash 18.1 × 27 cm. 10 January 1802. Inscribed "Lucky B., Jany 10th."

This sketch depicts the Investigator at anchor in Lucky Bay, with the islands of the Archipelago of the Recherche in the distance. It was probably drawn from atop the hill on the north-east of Lucky Bay. It became the basis of the oil painting A Bay on the South Coast of New Holland (right), which is now held by the National Maritime Museum.

Up to here
Middle Island, view north to Cape Arid

Sleaford Mere

Thistle Island

Thistle Island, a snake

Port Lincoln, a distant view

Port Lincoln, view west from Stamford Hill

Port Lincoln, view east from North-side Hill

Port Lincoln, a distant view

Spencer's Gulf, a view at the head of the Gulf

Spencer's Gulf, a view at the head of the Gulf

Spencer's Gulf, a native (a set of three drawings)

Spencer's Gulf, banksia

Spencer's Gulf, eucalyptus

Kangaroo Island, sailors and servants

Kangaroo Island, seals

Port Phillip

Sydney: Government House (watercolour, 21.6 × 28.8 cm)

One of a very small number of paintings completed by Westall during the voyage, Sydney: Government House was painted at the request of the Governor of New South Wales, Philip Gidley King, some time between 8 May and 21 July 1802. It was held by the King family until King's grandson, William Essington King, heard of the Royal Colonial Institute's acquisition of Westall's field sketches, and responded by donating this painting also. In 1969 it was sold to the National Library of Australia along with the field sketches

The building depicted was remodelled by Governor Lachlan Macquarie a few years after Westall painted it. It still stands, but has been relocated to Parramatta, where it is now referred to as Old Government House.

Port Jackson

Port Jackson, view westward toward the Blue Mountains

Port Jackson, a native

Port Jackson, a native

Port Jackson, a native

Port Jackson, an old blind man

Port Jackson, a native boy

Port Jackson, a native boy

Port Jackson; a group of natives

Port Jackson, grass trees

Hawkesbury River, view no. 1

Hawkesbury River, view no. 2

Hawkesbury River, view no. 3

Hawkesbury River, view no. 4

Hawkesbury River, view no. 5

Hawkesbury River, view no. 6

Hawkesbury River, view no. 7

Hawkesbury River, view no. 8

Hawkesbury River, view no. 9

Hawkesbury River, view no. 10

Hawkesbury River, view no. 11, eucalyptus

Hawkesbury River, view no. 12

Hawkesbury River, view no. 13

Mount Westall, view south-east

Port Curtis

Prince of Wales Islands, panorama from a hill on Good's Island

Views on the south coast of Australia

Percy Isles, a pine

Keppel Bay, view north from South Hill

Lucky Bay

Shoalwater Bay, banksia

Blue Mud Bay, Round Hill Island from Mt. Grindall

Broad Sound, view from Upper Head

Thirsty Sound, view westward along the Sound

Port Bowen, view south across the port

The English Company's Islands, Malay Road

East coast, Bustard Bay

The English Company's Islands, Probasso, a Malay chief

Sir Edward Pellew's Group, Vanderlin's Island from Cabbagetree Cove, North Island

Keppel Bay, a native

The English Company's Islands, the Malay fleet

Thirsty Sound, view westward along the Sound

Views on the south coast of Australia

Mount Westall, view south-east

Port Bowen, pines

Views on the south coast of Australia

Thirsty Sound, view south from Pier Head

Kangaroo Island, a bay on the north-east coast

Caledon Bay, Woogah, a native

Keppel Bay, a native

Keppel Bay, Broad Mount

Cereus peruvianus

Shoalwater Bay, a native

Sir Edward Pellew's Group, view in the vicinity of Centre Island

Arnhem Land, a view on the north-east coast

Chasm Island, native cave painting

Arnhem Land, a view on the north-east coast

Murray Isles, Torres Strait

Keppel Bay, a tree

Blue Mud Bay, body of a native shot on Morgan's Island

Arnhem Land, a view on the north-east coast

The English Company's Islands, Malay proa

Port Bowen, the northern shore

Keppel Bay, a native

Shoalwater Bay, view south from the entrance to Thirsty Sound

Groote Eylandt, a view

A palm

Blue Mud Bay, view from Mount Grindall

A fan palm

Keppel Bay, a tree

Percy Isles, a gully

Arnhem Land, a view on the north-east coast

Murray Isles

Arnhem Land, a view on the north-east coast

Arnhem Land, a view of the north-east coast

Views of the east coast of Australia

Groote Eylandt

Caledon Bay, Woogah, a native

Strong Tide Passage, a view from the Passage across Shoalwater Bay

South coast, Recherche Archipelago

Percy Isles, palm and pandanus

Views on the east coast of Australia

Mount Westall, view north across Strong Tide Passage and Townshend Island

The English Company's Islands, Malay proa

Views on the south coast of Australia

South coast, Recherche Archipelago

Views on the east coast of Australia

Strong Tide Passage, a bay

Chasm Island, native cave painting

Broad Sound, another view from Upper Head

A young pandanus

A palm

Views on the north coast of Australia

Yucca aloifolia

Prince of Wales Islands, panorama from a hill on Good's Island

Port Bowen, a young pine

Groote Eylandt, a view

View on the north coast of Australia

Arnhem Land, a view on the north-east coast

Keppel Bay, a native

Broad Sound, view from Upper Head

Shoalwater Bay, a native woman

Murray Isles, natives offering goods for barter

Keppel Bay, a native hut

South coast, Bald Head, Eclipse Island and Seal Island

Keppel Bay, a native hut

Views of the south coast of Australia

Other field sketches
19 sketches of trees have since come to light.

Finished paintings [aftermath?]
[9 oil paintings executed for the admiralty] [14 engravings for Flinders' A Voyage to Terra Australis]]

any number of watercolours etc; including some by others e.g. his son Robert