On Friday one of our greatest National Treasures, the National
Library of Australia, opened its exhibition on the life and art of
John Lewin, as in Lewin's Honeyeater. It is a wonderful exhibition,
a must visit for birders and colonial history buffs alike. And the
accompanying book by Richard Neville, Mr JW Lewin: painter &
naturalist, is outstanding as well.
Details on the exhibition from the NLA website
http://www.nla.gov.au/exhibitions/lewin-wild-art :
Lewin: Wild Art is about the life and times of
John William Lewin (1770-1819), the first free professional artist
to settle in Australia. Arriving in NSW in 1800 from London,
Lewin's mission was to collect, draw and publish Australia's
natural history for European audiences.
He landed in Sydney a conventional natural history artist, steeped
in European traditions, but quickly developed his own unique and
lively style. Specimens were clearly located in their natural
habitat and strong diagonals animated his compositions. The
challenge of confronting the new environment - where he found
everything 'contrary to our knowledge in England' - inspired his
beautifully observed illustrations, which are undoubtedly
Australian.
The State Library of NSW holds the largest, indeed an unrivalled,
collection of Lewin's art and books, with some 400 works. He is
also represented in other Australian and British collections. This
exhibition will bring together, for the first time, Lewin's work
from these major collections.
Lewin: Wild Art is a State Library of New South Wales
exhibition presented in collaboration with the National Library of
Australia.
David
--
David McDonald
1004 Norton Road
Wamboin NSW 2620
Australia
T: (02) 6238 3706
M: 0416 231 890
F: (02) 9475 4274
E: m("dnmcdonald.id.au","david");">
Blog: www.socialresearch.com.au/news.html
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