Fish from Honden Island
Date1839
Object number00047872
NamePainting
MediumWatercolour on paper
DimensionsOverall: 185 x 275 mm
Mount / Matt size: 522 × 717 mm
Mount / Matt size: 522 × 717 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
Collections
DescriptionAn ink and watercolour painting of a fish done on the US Exploring Expedition, Honden Island, August 1839. The fish depicted could be either the Two Spot Red Snapper or the Humpback Red Snapper which occur on reefs in the Cook Islands.HistoryThe US Exploring Expedition was the first government funded scientific hydrographic survey undertaken by the United States. The four-year voyage from 1838-1842 was lead by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes and comprised a naval squadron of six vessel. The flagship of the fleet was the sloop of war USS VINCENNES.
According to Vol. I of Wilkes' "Narrative," the four-vessel squadron (PEACOCK, VINCENNES, FLYING FISH and PORPOISE) made Honden Island in the Paumotu Group on August 19, 1839. They found it uninhabited but rich in wildlife. "Sharks... were so ravenous they bit at the oars... The number of birds on the island was incredible... The various snakes, the many-coloured fish, the great eels, enormous and voracious sharks, shells, large molluscs, spiders... all gave a novelty to the scene, that highly interested and delighted us. In the afternoon we returned on board, loaded with specimens." - p. 318. Presumably, these paintings were done from those specimens, for eventual inclusion in the reports that would comprise the planned twenty-four volumes of scientific results of the U.S. Exploring Expedition.
SignificanceThis painting is highly finished with exquisite detail and inscribed with descriptive notes in pencil. The volume on Ichthyology was never funded by the US Congress due to the looming Civil War. In addition the manuscript for the publication has been lost; thus these images have never been published.
1846
