Francis Guillemard Simpkinson de Wesselow, naval officer and artist, was born in London. He was the son of Sir John Augustus Francis Simpkinson. His mother, Mary Griffin, was the sister of Lady Jane Franklin. Upon joining the navy in 1832 he served with his uncle, Sir John Franklin (later Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land). He arrived in Van Diemen’s Land in September 1844 to take up his appointment at the Rossbank Magnetic Observatory in Hobart Town.
Simpkinson was an accomplished artist and recorded a great many landscapes around Van Diemen’s Land. He was often accompanied on his painting excursions around the colony, and even to Port Phillip, by the artist John Skinner Prout.
When Lieutenant Simpkinson returned to England in December 1848, he took his collection of some 200 drawings and watercolours with him. In 1869 he added “de Wesselow” to his name by deed poll. Responding to a request from the Royal Society of Tasmania, Simpkinson de Wesselow gifted his collection of colonial paintings and drawings to the Society when he was aged 81.
De Wesselow’s paintings are important as they are a rare contemporary representation of Wybalenna (the Tasmanian Aboriginal settlement on Flinders Island), the convict era and the early whaling industry of Van Diemen’s Land.
In 1984, Tasmanian artist Max Angus published “Simpkinson de Wesselow: Landscape Painter in Van Diemen’s Land and the Port Phillip District 1844-1848”, a magnificent full colour volume on the artist. De Wesselow’s work has featured sporadically in exhibitions at TMAG, including an exhibition to celebrate the Royal Society of Tasmania’s 175th Anniversary in 2018.
Owen Stanley entered the Royal Naval College aged only fifteen. After graduating he swiftly rose through the ranks, and at the age of twenty-six he was given his first independent command, the brig HMS Britomart. In 1837-38 he sailed for the East Indies and Australasian waters, chiefly on surveying work. The watercolours in the Society’s Art Collection are from this voyage. They were donated to the Society by Eliza Stanley, the widow of Stanley’s brother, Charles Stanley, Private Secretary to Sir William Denison (Governor of Van Diemen’s Land).
While Stanley’s achievements were principally scientific – he was made a fellow of both the Royal Society and the Royal Astronomical Society for his surveying and observation work – he is now also recognised as a skilled maritime artist. His paintings are held in a number of libraries and museums including the Royal Museums Greenwich.
HMS Britomart visited Hobart while Stanley was in command in the 1840s. While in Van Diemen’s Land, Stanley visited Port Arthur, making a number of sketches of the trip.
Benjamin Duterrau was an English-born artist of Huguenot descent, recognized as one of the earliest European painters to depict Tasmanian Aboriginal people. Born in Soho, London, he was baptized on 24 March 1768. Trained as an engraver, Duterrau exhibited six portraits at the Royal Academy between 1817 and 1823 and three genre pieces at the British Institution during the same period.
In August 1832, at the age of 65, Duterrau emigrated to Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) with his daughter. He established a studio in Hobart Town, where he practiced as a portrait painter and became the first person in the colony to deliver a public lecture on art.
Duterrau is best known for his works depicting Aboriginal subjects, particularly those brought to Hobart by George Augustus Robinson. His most notable painting, The Conciliation (1840), portrays a meeting between Robinson and members of the Big River and Oyster Bay tribes. This work is considered Australia's first history painting and is held by the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
In addition to oil paintings, Duterrau produced etchings and high-relief plaster sculptures of Aboriginal people. He also created topographical sketches of Hobart, providing valuable insights into the city's 1830s landscape.
Duterrau died in Hobart on 11 July 1851. His works are preserved in various collections, including the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts, and the National Library of Australia.
Louisa Anne Meredith came to Tasmania with her husband Charles in 1840. Already a published illustrator and author in England, she proved to be a prolific artist and author in Van Diemen’s Land as well. She published over a dozen books during her life, many of them lavishly illustrated.
The Society’s Art Collection contains the watercolour originals for arguably her best book “Some of my Bush Friends in Tasmania”. She was an active member of the Society and donated several of her natural history works. In the 1930s, the Society purchased two sketchbooks.
The assessment was commissioned:
Oakman’s report concludes that the Royal Society of Tasmania Art Collection is of national and international significance, particularly in three key domains:
Most of the RST Art Collection was gathered around 1900, as Tasmania approached Federation. Concerned about losing the island’s unique identity, the Society sought to preserve its visual, scientific, and cultural history through intentional collecting. The artworks remain in excellent condition, with strong provenance records, but have until recently been relatively unknown and under-researched.
Oakman concludes that the RST Art Collection is not only rare and coherent but vital to the understanding of Tasmanian—and by extension, Australian—cultural and environmental history. Its significance is expected to grow as further research, publication, and public access initiatives are developed.
A copy of the full report can be downloaded here.
| Artist | Number of Works |
|---|---|
| Louisa Anne Meredith | 252 |
| Francis Simpkinson de Wesselow | 207 |
| W.C. Piguenit | 28 |
| Owen Stanley | 79 |
| John Skinner Prout | 75 |
| Anna Maria Nixon | 41 |
| Total Artworks in Collection | 940 |
The Royal Society of Tasmania acknowledges, with deep respect, the traditional owners of this land, and the ongoing custodianship of the Aboriginal people of Tasmania. The Society pays respect to Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge that Tasmanian Aboriginal Peoples have survived severe and unjust impacts resulting from invasion and dispossession of their Country. As an institution dedicated to the advancement of knowledge, the Royal Society of Tasmania recognises Aboriginal cultural knowledge and practices and seeks to respect and honour these traditions and the deep understanding they represent.
On 15 February 2021, the Royal Society of Tasmania offered a formal Apology to the Tasmanian Aboriginal people. Read more