Sydney Parkinson (1745 -1771) was a botanical artist and draughtsman who was employed by Joseph Banks to accompany him on the first voyage of Captain James Cook to Australia and South Seas on HMS Endeavour.
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| Sydney Parkinson, self portrait |
He was born in Edinburgh in 1745 to a Quaker family and was originally a woollen draper. He studied drawing especially the drawing of plants and flowers. On moving to London he was discovered by a young Joseph Banks and employed by him to draw plants at Kew botanical gardens.
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| Bread Fruit Plant and Fruit. Watercolour by Sydney Parkinson 1769 |
In 1768 he was hired by Joseph Banks to accompany him and topographical draughtsman Alexander Buchan, who died in Tahiti during the voyage. Parkinson took on some of his work painting plant specimens on board ship often in the most difficult and trying conditions.
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| Barringtonia Calyptrata by Sydney Parkinson, completed by F C Nodder |
Poor Sydney never made it home from this voyage as he contracted dysentery and died at Cape Town on the return journey on 26th January 1771. He was buried at sea.
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| Illustrations for Banks's Florilegium of Banksia serrata the one on the left is a watercolour based on Sydney Parkinson's sketch and completed by J F Miller under Banks's instructions. |
I've written about Sydney Parkinson because I found the catalogue above on the book shelves (whilst looking for something else, as you do) and then I remembered visiting the exhibition at the Natural History Museum in 1988 where I bought the book and several postcards. I'd gone with a colleague from a Museum where I used to work when we were researching for an exhibition we were putting together about local adventurer and seaman Matthew Flinders.
Joining in with Barbara at Coastal Ripples for Paint Monthly follow the - link - to see other bloggers who are participating this month.
Joining in with Barbara at Coastal Ripples for Paint Monthly follow the - link - to see other bloggers who are participating this month.
What beautiful botanical illustrations. Bet the exhibition was wonderful. It's good to keep the souvenir guides. Thanks for joining in again Rosie. B x
ReplyDeleteThanks, Barbara, glad you enjoyed the illustrations:)
DeleteIt must have been SO difficult to achieve that level of detail and accuracy 'in the field'. Such a talented man. Jx
ReplyDeleteHe must have spent a great deal of time collecting and drawing the specimens as well as painting some in watercolours. I'm glad others made paintings from some of his drawings and sketches too:)
DeleteI am always amazed by botanical prints, hard to do under normal circumstances, can't imagine doing on a heaving ship.
ReplyDeleteThey are amazing aren't they? So hard to do in cramped conditions:)
DeleteThe early explorers needed enormous courage and skill and even those often didn't bring them back alive. The exquisite illustrations are a wonderful legacy from a time when there was no other way to record your findings.
ReplyDeleteI;m always fascinated with stories about both early fossil and plant hunters, especially the plant hunters who set off on adventures taking years and never knowing when or if they would go home:)
DeleteThe journeys of those early explorers must have been so hard. Matthew Flinders is a name I've come across quite a bit in recent weeks, now commemorated across South Australia in a number of ways including lending his name to two of the national parks we visited.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Flinders is a fascinating character, I wish he were better known here and as well as he is in Australia, he came from Donington in South Lincolnshire and his ship's surgeon George Bass came from nearby, Flinders named the Bass Straits after him. I was priviledged to read some of Flinders's letters at the Lincoln Archives when researching the exhibition, his writings home from his voyages and captivity on Mautitius to his family and his wife Ann:)
DeleteSuch detailed pictures whilst being swayed and jiggled about by the sea and feeling awful with dysentery. Poor chap. 😊
ReplyDeleteHe must have been very ill on the way home as dysentry took quite a few of the crew members:)
DeleteSuch an interesting post Rosie - the botanical illustrations are superb. I would imagine the exhibition was superb. I always enjoy seeing early botanical drawings. Such a shame he never made it home.
ReplyDeleteIt was a fabulous exhibition, I remember also going to an exhibition at Greenwich too around the same time. The botanical drawings are wonderful aren't they?:)
DeleteI can't imagine trying to paint on a ship especially on choppy seas! He was a fine botanical artist who died so tragically young.x
ReplyDeleteHe was very skilled wasn't he? Many men went on those voyages and never made it home but at least he left behind some wonderful paintings and drawing to remember him by:)
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