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John Abbot (1751-1840) John Abbot is best known as a one of the earliest Europeans to record the natural history of North America. Born in London, Abbot was the second son of a London barrister, John Abbot (d. 1787). From an early age, Abbot developed an interest in the natural world and also for drawing. After observing his natural artistic talent, his father engaged the engraver Jacob Bonneau (1741-1786) to act as his son’s tutor. Abbot also developed a passion for insect collecting and became acquainted with other leading London entomologists. He earned a modest income by selling insect specimens and painting insects on commission. In 1770, he was invited to exhibit two watercolours of British insects at The London Society of Artists annual exhibition. Abbot’s particular mentor was Dru Drury (1725-1803), a London jeweller who maintained one of the finest insect collections of the time. Drury bought specimens from overseas collectors and financed individuals to collect insects on his behalf. Abbot realised that it was possible to earn a living by collecting and drawing insects. With influences such as Mark Cateby’s Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands (1731–43), Abbot’s chosen area to collect in was America and so in 1773 he departed England for Virginia. After two years he moved to Georgia where he remained for the rest of his life. Once settled in Georgia, Abbot’s artistic output became prolific. His natural history drawings were sold in Europe through John Francillon (1744-1816), who acted as his agent in London and sold Abbot’s work to enthusiasts both in England and continental Europe. Francillon also became a collector of Abbot’s work, and amassed a very large collection of his paintings of insects and birds. Abbot’s artwork and accompanying manuscript notes indicate his attention to detail and observational skills. Abbot has been rather overshadowed by his contemporaries, John James Audubon (1785-1851) and the ornithologist Alexander Wilson (1766-1831). Abbot took Wilson, who is known as the “father of American ornithology”, on several collecting expeditions and provided Wilson with many bird specimens and drawings. Abbot also painted many bird species long before Audubon stated to illustrate American birds for his monumental work Birds of America (1827-1838). Abbot died in Southern Georgia in 1840 leaving
a legacy of thousands of drawings of natural history,
many of which still survive today in both the United
States and Great Britain.
The elephant beetle (Dynastes tityus) is one of the largest and heaviest beetles to be found in North America, it is found in eastern States. The larvae live in the decaying wood of trees, stumps and logs for a number of years. The adult male as shown in the watercolour has “horns”. Abbot made the following observations about this
insect:
The John Abbot Drawings Collection The Natural History Museum holds three collections of John Abbot artworks which represent the largest single deposit of his work. The two watercolours of insects illustrated here have been selected from one collection of 17 volumes of drawings housed in the Entomology Library, Insects of Georgia. This collection was amassed by John Francillon (1744-1816) who had the drawings uniformly bound in full morocco leather. Many drawings are accompanied with notes by Abbot and some include attractive images of the food plant of the insect, while others depicted insects in tabular form. Following Francillon’s death, this collection was purchased “for the Nation” by the British Museum and was later transferred to the Natural History Museum in 1881. The second collection of Abbot drawings held in the Natural History Museum consist of a set of 116 bird drawings, Birds of Georgia, consisting of the most rare and beautiful birds (1827). This had been acquired by Lionel Walter Rothschild (1868-1937) in 1889, and was later bequeathed to the Museum. The two bird watercolours shown here are from this collection. The third collection of two insect volumes, Insects of Georgia was also acquired by Rothschild and had previously been in the possession of Sir Robert Johnson Eden, Bart. The four drawings depicted here have been selected to illustrate the range of Abbot’s work. His artwork does vary in detail and quality but always conveys a sense of great excitement as Abbot observed and captured on paper the abundance of insect and bird life he observed. Gilbert (1998) in her detailed work on the life of Abbot and his drawings states “Abbot’s watercolours and biological observations rank high among the contributors from North America in the late eighteenth and nineteenth century”. Today Abbot’s art work is to be found in a number
of other public institutions around the world including
the British Library; the Alexander Turnbull Library,
Wellington, New Zealand; the Houghton Library, Harvard
University; the Johns Hopkins University, and University
of South Carolina, USA. Many drawings are also in
private hands.
Exhibition and publication details Some of Abbot’s entomological artwork was published in J. E. Smith & Abbot, J. (1797) The Natural History of the rarer Lepidopterous insects of Georgia… collected from the observations of Mr. J. Abbot. 2 vols, London.
References and further reading Gilbert, P. (1998) John Abbot: Birds, Butterflies and other Wonders. 128pp. Merrell Holberton & The Natural History Museum, London. 128pp Largen, M. J. and Rogers-Price, V. (1985) John Abbot, an early naturalist-artist in North America, Archives of Natural History, 12 , pp. 231–52 Wilkinson, R. S. (1984) John Abbot’s London Years.
The Entomologist’s Record and Journal of Variation,
96: 110-123; 165-176; 222-229; 273-285
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