The gigantic lyllie of New South Wales, 1810 by J W Lewin ::

Details

Date

1810

Media category

Watercolour

Materials used

pencil, watercolour on cream laid paper

Dimensions

53.8 x 43.1 cm borderlines; 54.1x 43.6 cm sheet; 68.0 x 57.5 x 3.5 cm frame

Signature & date

Signed and dated l.r., pen and black ink "I.W. Lewin .../ 1810.".

Credit

Purchased 1968

Location

South Building, ground level, Grand Courts

Accession number

WA9.1968

Copyright

Reproduction requests

Artist information

J W Lewin

Works in the collection

2

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About

The painter and naturalist JW Lewin is credited as the
first professional English artist to work in Australia.
Enticed here by the prospect of documenting rare and
exotic flora and fauna, he arrived in Wuganmagulya /
Farm Cove aboard the 'Minerva' in 1800.

Lewin travelled widely, collected specimens for his
patron in England, published illustrated books, and
produced watercolours of native animals and plants for
collectors locally and abroad. In 'The gigantic lyllie of
New South Wales' Lewin focusses on an unfurled
gymea lily, a species endemic to the Sydney basin which
flowers in winter. Gymea is the Dharawal name for the
plant, once abundant within the area.

The faint pencil grid underneath the image indicates
Lewin cut the lily from its tall stem and drew it from
direct observation using a ‘drawing machine’ – a gridded
string tool that helped him replicate the flower’s
proportions accurately on his sheet of paper.

Exhibition history

Shown in 10 exhibitions

Christie's South Kensington: Paintings, drawings, bronzes, weapons and books of American, Australian, Canadian, South African and Eastern interest, Christie, Manson and Woods, London, 27 Jun 1968–02 Jul 1968
Western European and Australian drawings XVI-XX century, from Australian museums, State Hermitage Museum, Russia, Dec 1978–Feb 1979
Australian images: Prints, drawings and watercolours from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 22 Dec 1979–28 Jan 1980
Two centuries of Australian painting, a selection from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Orange Regional Gallery, Orange, 19 Apr 1986–15 Jun 1986
The artist and the patron: Aspects of colonial art in New South Wales., Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 02 Mar 1988–01 May 1988
The great Australian art exhibition, Queensland Art Gallery, South Brisbane, 17 May 1988–17 Jul 1988

The great Australian art exhibition, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, 13 Aug 1988–25 Sep 1988

The great Australian art exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 21 Oct 1988–27 Nov 1988

The great Australian art exhibition, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, 21 Dec 1988–05 Feb 1989

The great Australian art exhibition, National Gallery of Victoria [St Kilda Road], Melbourne, 01 Mar 1989–30 Apr 1989

The great Australian art exhibition, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 23 May 1989–16 Jul 1989
Nineteenth century Australian watercolours from the collection (1991), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 13 Apr 1991–07 Jul 1991
19th century Australian watercolours, drawings & pastels, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 06 Apr 2005–24 Jul 2005
Capturing flora: 300 years of Australian botanical art, Art Gallery of Ballarat, Ballarat, 25 Sep 2012–02 Dec 2012
Colony: Australia 1770 1861, Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Melbourne, 15 Mar 2018–15 Jul 2018

Bibliography

Referenced in 19 publications

Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of New South Wales picturebook, Sydney, 1972, 65 (colour illus.).
Tim Bonyhady, The colonial image: Australian painting 1800-1880, Canberra, 1987, 13 (colour illus.).
Christie's London, Christie's London: Exploration and travel including The Bligh Relics, St. James's, 26 Sep 2002, 66 (colour illus.). lot no. 67 is a watercolour on paper titled 'The Gymea Lily (Doryanthes excelsa)', painted in 1807 by J.W. Lewin, 54.6 x 41.3 cm, Estimate: US$47,000 - 78,000.
Christie's London, Paintings, drawings, bronzes, weapons and books of American, Australian, Canadian, South African and Eastern interest, 27 June - 2 July 1968, South Kensington, 1968, (illus.). lot no. 46
Penelope Curtin and Tansy Curtin, Blooms and brushstrokes: a floral history of Australian art, 'Flowers A-Z: Gymea lily', pg. 96-67, Mile End, 96, 97 (colour illus.), 194.
Jane de Teliga, Australian images: Prints, drawings and watercolours from the collection, Sydney, 1979, 7.
Paula Dredge, Melbourne Journal of Technical Studies in Art: Underdrawing, 'Drawing from life? J.W. Lewin's The gigantic lyllie of New South Wales', pg. 49-54, Melbourne, 2005, 49 (colour illus.), 50 (illus.), 51, 52 (illus.), 53, 54.
Deborah Edwards, Two centuries of Australian painting: a selection from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 'Introduction', pg. 8-14, Sydney, 1986, 8, 16 (illus.). cat.no. 1
Bruce James, Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, 'Australian Collection: Works on Paper', pg. 182-197, Sydney, 1999, 183 (colour illus.).
Jennifer Jones-O'Neill, Capturing flora: 300 years of Australian botanical art, 'Curious cones and gigantic lyllies: early encounters with the Australian flora', pg. 29-78, Ballarat, 2012, 60, 64, 65 (colour illus.).
Hendrik Kolenberg., Nineteenth century Australian watercolours from the collection, 'Introduction', Sydney, 1991. not paginated, cat.no. 37
Hendrik Kolenberg, Anne Ryan and Patricia James, 19th century Australian watercolours, drawing and pastels from the Gallery's collection, Sydney, 2005, 20, 21 (colour illus.).
Hendrik Kolenberg, Look, 'Australian images from the past: whether rarely seen or familiar, these works move and delight us', pg. 24-27, Sydney, Apr 2005, 24.
Barry Pearce, The artist and the patron - aspects of Colonial art in New South Wales, Sydney, 1988, 134, 135 (colour illus.). cat.no. 117
Hal Missingham (Editor), Art Gallery of New South Wales Quarterly, Sydney, Apr 1969, 454, 456 (illus.).
Barry Pearce, Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, 'Australian', pg. 13-35, Sydney, 1988, 16.
Anne Ryan, Australian art: in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 'Colonial eyes', pg. 17-18, Sydney, 2000, 17, 20 (colour illus.), 21, 301.
Daniel Thomas, Creating Australia: 200 years of art 1788-1988, 'Colonial Art: Nature', pg.32, Melbourne, 1988, 35 (colour illus.).
Daniel Thomas, Art and Australia, 'Australian collection', pg. 52-62, Sydney, Jul 1972, 53 (colour illus.).

The gigantic lyllie of New South Wales