Climbing Trees
Printer
Edward Orme
(British, 1775 - 1838)
Datec 1818
Object number00055544
NamePrint
MediumPaper
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection
DescriptionAquatint attributed to John Heaviside Clark depicting a group of Indigenous Australians gathered around a tree while one person climbs the tree using an axe.
Part of a set of ten aquatints by Clark depicting Indigenous Australian communities.HistoryAs an early 19th century European interpretation of Indigenous Australians, Clark depicts many representative inaccuracies in the aquatints. Perhaps most critically, the homogenizing of the subject, lacking an awareness of the many different Indigenous Australian communities and their own respective cultural practices.
While the works are attributed to John Heaviside Clark, and it has been suggested that the drawings are based off original sketches by colonial artist John Lewin. The aquatints were first printed in 1813 with the original printed set dedicated to Governor Bligh. Clark's dedication printed on the 1813 publication insert as:
"To Rear Admiral Bligh, late Captain General and Governor in Chief, in and over his majesty's colony of New South Wales, and its dependencies. It is presumed this slight sketch of the manners of the natives of New South Wales may assist in keeping alive the recollection of a distant spot, where your exertions for your country, and for the benefit of mankind, have been so eminently displayed. It also affords an opportunity for me to express my very sincere respect. I am, Sir, your much obliged humble servant, John Heaviside Clark."
Clark's written introduction to his aquatints, where he comments broadly on the character of Indigenous Australians, has a deeply racist, Eurocentric, misunderstood, and early 19th century anthropological tone. The works invariably present a distorted view of Indigenous Australians, as seen through inaccuracies in detail and place. In this work, the shape of the canoe suggests it may be Nawi canoe, commonly used in the Sydney basin, however errors in depiction of other components of the Nawi, such as the length of the oars and placement of the fire, suggest some imagination may have been at work by the artist.
The aquatints were first published in Clark's volume 'The Native Inhabitants of NSW' (1813), the first colonial book solely focusing on Indigenous Australians. The works present a distorted view of Indigenous Australians - as seen through inaccuracies in detail and place in each work - and cannot be taken as historically accurate. Rather, they are significant as a reflection of European sensibilities of the time.
SignificanceThese aquatints are significant as one of the earliest European pictorial documents of Australian Indigenous communities. As an early 19th century European interpretation, the aquatints cannot be seen as historically accurate, rather, they are significant as a reflection of European sensibilities of the time.
