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Sydney Parkinson (1745? - 1771)
Sydney Parkinson was born in Edinburgh and worked in the wool trade before painting became his life. He is known to have exhibited a floral painting on silk in a London exhibition during 1765. He also drew the plants growing in James Lee's famous nursery in Hammersmith, some of which are also held in the Museum Library's collections. Parkinson taught Lee's daughter to paint and continued to exhibit his own works in 1765 and 1766 at the Free Society of Artists. Parkinson's skills as a botanical artist were soon noticed by Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820). He gave Parkinson access to Kew Gardens in order for him to draw the plants as a scientific record. In 1768, Parkinson accompanied Banks as his botanical draughtsman on Captain James Cook's famous voyage of circumnavigation. This epic voyage of discovery was carried out on a converted coal ship, the HMS Endeavour. The aim of the voyage was to sail to Tahiti to study the astronomical 'transit of Venus' and then to the South Pacific to search for a mythical Great Southern Continent. Cook went on to chart the coast of New Zealand and the east coast of Australia. The expedition was largely financed by Banks who was keen to use the voyage to collect new specimens. As Parkinson was engaged to draw the botanical and zoological discoveries, he became the first artist to scientifically observe and record Australian flora and fauna. Parkinson was able to prepare 674 life-size outline drawings of the plants that had been encountered, with colour notes often added. He also completed 269 watercolour illustrations and a further 299 drawings of the animals that had been seen and collected on Cook's voyage. Some works were completed at the place of collection while others were completed during the journey and were made with the intention of publishing the images upon return to England. Tragically, on the return leg of the voyage, this young and capable artist was one of many of the crew on the Endeavour to fall ill with tropical fever. Parkinson died at sea on 26 January, 1771. On his return to England, Banks was keen to publish Parkinson's drawings. Over 700 engraved plates were produced but unfortunately were never published. It is nothing less than remarkable and lucky that the ship survived the perilous return journey, the artwork kept safe and that it has survived the intervening years to still be appreciated today for what it represents in both historical and scientific, as well as in cultural terms. The engravings survived over the centuries and were stored for many years at the British Museum and then at the Natural History Museum. In the 1980's an exciting project was proposed to use these original eighteenth century plates to publish Parkinson's work. Using traditional printing techniques the drawings were finally published by Editions Alecto Limited in collaboration with the Natural History Museum between 1980-1990. The plant Ficus parkinsoni Hiern., a fig, is named in Parkinson's honour.
This colourful drawing depicts a beautiful red hibiscus (Hibiscus
rosa-sinensis) which was prepared and finished by Sydney
Parkinson on the voyage when the ship arrived at Otaheite
in the Society Islands, in the Pacific. Through such drawings, the dramatic flora of the Pacific Islands was introduced to European botanists.
The Sydney Parkinson Drawings Collection This painting is just one of approximately 960 in this historically significant collection. The Botany Library holds related original manuscripts that describe the plants found on the voyage, made by Dr. Solander, Banks' botanist on the voyage. These are mostly in Latin, the typical descriptive language of the period. They relate to the hundreds of plant specimens returned to England from the voyage and which are now held in the Botany Department's collections. A portrait of Parkinson was presented to the Museum in 1896. After the voyage the Parkinson drawings were kept in the possession of Sir Joseph Banks, at his Soho residence in London. He paid five artists to complete Parkinson's work. Banks then commissioned 18 engravers to produce copper plates from the drawings with the intention of publishing a major work about the botany of the voyage. This project was never completed. The 753 copper plates were later deposited in the British Museum, and then moved here, to the new South Kensington site for its Natural history Department. It was not until the 1980s that the plates were finally printed in colour, the product of a collaborative project between the Natural History Museum and Editions Alecto Limited. As part of this work the watercolour collection was photographed, disbound and conserved to ensure the long-term preservation of this internationally important collection. In 2002, the Museum's Web Team created a website to give more access to the Endeavour botanical illustrations with supporting information.
An exotic food source is the Sunset hibiscus or aibika, also known as edible hibiscus. This is a cultivated plant in the islands of the South Pacific and in some tropical areas of Asia. The reportedly sweet leaves are eaten raw or cooked. Other food sources include Amberseed or musk seed, which can also be found in tropical Asia and the East Indies as the seed of the bushy Hibiscus moscheutos. From west Africa, the Hibiscus sabdariffa is known as roselle or sorrel and is another edible hibiscus. The young shoots and leaves are cooked or eaten raw, while part of the flower is also used to make sauces, drinks and even preserves. This plant was possibly introduced to the West Indies and Brazil during the seventeenth century and with the slave trade. It was introduced to Australia in the early twentieth century and today is a major crop in India, Java and the Philippines. A great deal more information can be found in the many hibiscus internet sites which have recently developed in reaction to the popularity of the plants. Sites include the tropical hibiscus and the American Hibiscus Society which give the reader a wide appreciation of the colour and variety expressed in these plants.
Exhibition and publication details The painting has rarely been exhibited on public display due to its fragile and precious format. Ebes, H. (1988) [Sale 1988 July 2 & 3 : catalogue] The Florilegium of Captain Cook's first voyage to Australia 1768-1771. Sotherby's Australia in association with Editions Alecto and BM(NH): Melbourne: Ebes Douwma ; Paddington, N.S.W. 200p.
References and further reading Carr, D. J. (ed) (1983) Sydney Parkinson: artist of Cook's Endeavour voyage. BM(NH), in association with Australian National University Press: London. 300pp. Chin, H. F. (1988) The hibiscus: queen of tropical flowers. Tropical Press: Kuala Lumpur. 151pp. Desmond, R. (2003) Great Natural History Books and their Creators. British Library, Oak Knoll Press: London. 176pp. Diment, J. A. (ed) (1987) Catalogue of the natural history drawings commissioned by Joseph Banks on the Endeavour voyage, 1768-1771 held in the British Museum (Natural History): Part 1. Botany, Australia. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Historical series, v.11, 183pp. Rice, A. (1999) Voyages of discovery: three centuries of natural history exploration. Scriptum Editions : London. 336pp. Wheeler, A. (1986) Catalogue of the natural history drawings
commissioned by Joseph Banks on the Endeavour voyage, 1768-1771
held in the British Museum (Natural History): Part 3. Zoology.
Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Historical
series, v.13, 171pp. |
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