Richard Browne
Irish - Australian, 1776 - 1824
This may have been a fortuitous move as it was here he encountered Lieutenant Thomas Skottowe, commandant at the colony. Skottowe had an interest in natural history and was compiling a work titled 'Select Specimens from Nature of the Birds and Animals of New South Wales'. It is unclear how Skottowe came to know of Browne's artistic talent but he engaged him in producing images for his work. In addition to local fauna, birds and insects, Browne also recorded images of local Indigenous residents. Other convict artists were also engaged in recording life in the new British colonies at this point and a culture of collaboration existed between these artists and the government as there was so much work to be done.
While at Newcastle Browne married fellow convict Sarah Coates and they would go on to have six children together.
Browne remained in Newcastle until 1817 when he was granted his freedom and moved to Sydney where he lived at various addresses until his death in 1824. It is recorded that Sarah Browne was still living in Sydney in 1837 but we know that two of the eldest daughters, Mary and Eliza, were admitted to the female orphan school just two months after their father's death.
Browne kept up his artistic career in Sydney, producing numerous images of local Indigenous residents some of which appeared in 'A collection of portraits, predominantly of Aborigines of New South Wales and Tasmania, ca. 1817-1849'.
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