William Westall
British, 1781 - 1850
Westall painted nine pictures for reproduction in Flinders' 'Voyage to Terra Australis' and was one of the first professional artists to visit Australia.
Person TypeIndividual
BiographyWilliam Westall was appointed as figure and landscape artist aboard Mathew Flinders voyage of the INVESTIGATOR. Westall was only 19 years old when assigned the position by Sir Joseph Banks and was the youngest member of the scientific team. Over the course of the voyage Westall produced 140 sketches of the landscapes and some of the people he encountered. Although there was some criticism on his return at the relatively low number of images (compared to the 2000 produced by fellow artist Ferdinand Bauer) his coastal profiles, important for future navigators and British territorial claims, are noted for their accuracy. Westall indicated later that the landscape of Australia was drab and his later works, based on his sketches, certainly have some added artistic licence in their execution.
Westall painted nine pictures for reproduction in Flinders' 'Voyage to Terra Australis' and was one of the first professional artists to visit Australia.
