Augustus Earle

Augustus Earle,(Self Portrait) Solitude, watching the horizon at sun set, in the hopes of seeing a vessel, Tristan de Acunha (i.e. da Cunha) in the South Atlantic,(1824): watercolour; 17.5 x 25.7 cm.National Library of Australia

Augustus Earle(1793–1838) was a British painter. Unlike earlier artists who worked outsideEuropeand were employed on voyages of exploration or worked abroad for wealthy, often aristocratic patrons, Earle was able to operate quite independently – able to combine his lust for travel with an ability to earn a living through art. The body of work he produced during his travels comprises a significant documentary record of the effects of European contact and colonisation during the early nineteenth century.

Life

Early life

Augustus Earle was born inLondonon 1 June 1793.He was the youngest child of an American-born father, James Earle (1761–1796),an artist, and Georgiana Caroline Smyth, daughter ofJohn Carteret Pilkingtonand former partner (with two children) of Joseph Brewer Palmer Smyth, anAmerican loyalistwho spent some years in England. Earle's father James was a member of the prominent American Earle family. The elder of his two sisters wasPhoebe Earle(1790–1863), also a professional painter and wife of the artistDenis Dighton,while his older half-sister was Elizabeth Anne Smyth (1787–1838) and his older half-brother was the scientist AdmiralWilliam Henry Smyth(1788–1865). There is no record of him marrying or having children.

Earle received his artistic training in theRoyal Academyand was already exhibiting there at the age of 13. Earle exhibited classical, genre and historical paintings in six Royal Academy exhibitions between 1806 and 1814.

Mediterranean tour

In 1815, at the age of twenty-two, Earle's half-brother, William Henry Smythhad sought and was given permission byLord Exmouthto allow Earle passage through the Mediterranean aboardScyllathat Smyth commanded and which was part of Admiral Exmouth'sRoyal Navyfleet. Earle thus visitedSicily,Malta,GibraltarandNorth Africa,before returning toEnglandin 1817. A portfolio of drawings from this voyage is held by theNational Gallery of Australia,Canberra.

To the United States

In March 1818, Earle left England, bound for theUnited Stateson the first stage of a journey that would end up taking him around-the-world to South America,Tristan da Cunha,New South Wales,New Zealand,the Pacific, Asia,India,MauritiusandSt Helenabefore returning home in late 1829. The first leg of Earle's 1818 voyage took him first toNew York,before moving on toPhiladelphia,where he exhibited two paintings at thePennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.No artworks are known to have survived from this period.

South America

Continuing his voyage in February 1820, Earle sailed forRio de Janeiro,Brazil,visitingChilein June and was resident inLima,Perufrom July to December. On 10 December 1820, Earle left Lima for Rio de Janeiro aboard HMSHyperion.During the subsequent three years spent in Rio de Janeiro, Earle produced a large number of sketches and watercolours.

Augustus Earle,Punishing negroes at Cathabouco, (i.e. Calabouco) Rio de Janeiro,(1822): watercolour; 23.6 x 26.3 cm.National Library of Australia

A number of the works produced dealt with the subject ofslavery in Brazil,includingPunishing negroes at Cathabouco (Calobouco), Rio de Janeiro,Negro fandango scene, Campo St. Anna nr. Rio,andGames at Rio de Janeiro, during the Carnival.Other works included landscapes and a series of portraits.

Tristan da Cunha

On 17 February 1824, he left Rio de Janeiro aboard the ageing shipDuke of Gloucesterbound for theCape of Good Hope,and onwards toCalcutta.Earle's departure was due to a letter containing the 'most flattering offers of introduction toLord Amherst,who had just left England to take upon himself the government of India. In the mid-Atlanticstorms forced the ship to anchor off the remote island of Tristan da Cunha. During the ship's stay in the island's waters, Earle went ashore with his dog and a crew member, Thomas Gooch, attracted by the idea that 'this was a spot hitherto unvisited by any artist'. Three days laterDuke of Gloucesterinexplicably set sail, leaving Earle and Gooch on the island, which had only six permanent adult inhabitants. In the ensuing eight months of enforced stay on the island, between March and November, Earle became a tutor to several children, and continued to record impressions of the island until his supplies ran out.

Sixteen works survive from the stay on Tristan da Cunha, includingGovernment House, Tristan D'Acunha (i.e. da Cunha),which was reproduced in his Narrative[1],andFlinching a young sea elephant.

Augustus Earle,Portrait of Bungaree, a native of New South Wales, with Fort Macquarie, Sydney Harbour, in background,(1826): oil on canvas; 68.5 x 50.5 cm.National Library of Australia

Australia

Earle was finally rescued on 29 November by the shipAdmiral Cockburn,which had stopped off on its voyage toHobart,Van Diemen's Land(in 1856 Van Diemen's Land was renamedTasmaniain honour ofAbel Tasman) where he landed on 18 January 1825.He remained in Hobart briefly, and only a small number of works survive from this period, his portraits of Captain Richard Brooks and of his wife (1827_1827)hang in the National Gallery of Victoria, includingJune Park, Van Dieman's (sic) Land, perfect park scenery,andCape Barathas, (i.e. Barathus) Adventure Bay, Van Dieman's (i.e. Diemen's) Land.

Earle left Hobart forSydneyaboard the brigCyprus,arriving there on 14 May. He soon established a reputation as the colony's first and foremost artist of significance. Upon setting up a small business, Earle received a number of requests for portraits. These commissions came from a number of Sydney's establishment figures and leading families. Throughout this time, Earle also continued to produce a number ofwatercolourswhich mainly fall into three categories: landscapes, Aboriginal subjects, and a series of views of public and private buildings that record the development of the colony. Earle painted numerous portraits of high-profile colonists including GovernorThomas Brisbane,GovernorRalph Darling,CaptainJohn Piperand Mrs Piper,with her children.One of his most famous works is a lithographic print entitledPortrait ofBungaree,a native of New South Wales, with Fort Macquarie, Sydney Harbour, in background.

Earle also made several excursions to outlying areas of the colony, travelling north of Sydney via theHunter Riveras far asPort StephensandPort Macquarieand, between April and May 1827, he travelled to theIllawarradistrict south of Sydney.Gaining acceptance withinSydney'society' he decided to apply for a land grant, this was denied however, due to his lack of capital.

New Zealand

On 20 October 1827, Earle left Sydney aboardGovernor Macquarieto visit New Zealand, where he had 'hopes of finding something new for my pencil in their peculiar and picturesque style of life'. While Earle was preceded by artists onJames Cook's voyages in the Pacific, includingSydney Parkinson,William HodgesandJohn Webber,he was the first to take up residence. Earle arrived atHokianga Harbouron the west coast of theNorth Island,resolving to make his way overland to theBay of Islands.Setting out with his friend Mr Shand he arrived atKororāreka,where he came under the patronage ofMāorichiefTe Whareumu,also known as Shulitea [or 'King George']. A large number of watercolours and drawings from Earle's New Zealand sojourn remain, covering subjects such as romantic landscapes,Māori cultureand daily village life, the effects of warfare, portrait studies. He also produced a number of oil painting portraits, along with watercolours, lithographs and pencil sketches. Returning to Hokianga Harbour, he departed from New Zealand for Sydney in April 1828 aboardGovernor Macquarie.

To India

Earle then spent close to six months back in Sydney before departing on 12 October 1828, on board the shipRainbowbound for India via theCaroline Islands,Guam,one of the Ladrones,Manila,SingaporeandPulo-Penang,before disembarking atMadrasin India. Although the city of Madras provided a good market for his art Earle's health declined there and he travelled toPondicherry,embarking in theJulie,which was condemned atMauritius.After executing panoramic views of the island he returned to England in the Resource in 1830.

Voyage ofBeagle

On 28 October 1831 he was engaged by captainRobert FitzRoyas artist supernumerary with victuals on thesecond voyage of HMSBeagle,working as topographical artist and draughtsman. He became friends withCharles Darwin,and in April and May 1832 they stayed in a cottage atBotafogonearRio de Janeiro,but problems with his health forced him to leave the ship atMontevideoin August and return to England. His place on HMSBeaglewas taken over byConrad Martens.

He made paintings from some of his sketches, includingA Bivouac of Travellers,which he exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1838. This was one of three he made in the Cabbage Tree Forest near Illawarra c. March 1827.

Death

Augustus Earle died, of asthma and debility, in London on 10 December 1838, aged 45.

Publication

• Augustus Earle,A narrative of a nine months' residence in New Zealand in 1827: together with a journal of a residence in Tristan D'Acunha, an island situated between South America and the Cape of Good Hope.London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman, 1832.Full text.

See also

• List of incidents of cannibalism § 1820s

References

• Serle, Percival(1949)."Earle, Augustus".Dictionary of Australian Biography.Sydney:Angus & Robertson.

External links

• The Wandering Artist: Augustus Earle's Travels Around The World 1820-29aNational Library of Australiaonline exhibition
• Augustus Earle at Australian Art
• Works by Augustus EarleatProject Gutenberg
• Works by or about Augustus EarleatInternet Archive
• Works by Augustus EarleatLibriVox(public domain audiobooks)