A Toopapaoo of a Chief
with a priest making his offering in a Morai, in Huoheine
Aquatint
John Webber artist
1809
Mat Height 20" Width 24" image Height 12 1/2" Width 17"
Provenance: Sothebys New York Lot 182 2006
John Dominis Holt, Honolulu, HI
WEBBER, John, R.A. (1751-1793). A Toopapaoo of a Chief, with a Priest making his Offering to the Morai, in Huoheine, Plate 8. Aquatint engraving with original hand color. London: Boydell & Company: 1809. 16 1/4” x 21” sheet. IMAGES FROM ONE OF THE FINEST COLLECTIONS OF VIEWS IN THE ANNALS OF PACIFIC EXPLORATION.
In 1776, through the influence of Dr. Solander, he was appointed official draughtsman on Captain Cook’s third voyage. Cook himself emphasized the importance of professional drawings as a complement to scientific records: Mr. Webber was engaged to embark with me, he wrote, for the express purpose of supplying the unavoidable imperfections of written accounts. Webber made numerous drawings not only of landscape but also, in Cook’s words, of everything that was curious, both within and without doors. His sketches of natives, their houses, clothing, utensils, and customs add a vivid gloss to Cook’s narrative. Webber was an eyewitness of Cook’s death, and his painting of it, engraved by Byrne and Bartolozzi, became the standard representation of that tragic event.
On his return to London, Webber superintended the engraving of his drawings for the official account of the expedition published by the Admiralty in 1784, although his sketches of native faces and costume inevitably suffered some Europeanization in the engravers hands. Webber himself engraved and published a series of Views in the South Seas (1787-92), and exhibited at the Royal Academy several paintings based on the voyage. He was elected Associate of the Royal Academy in 1785, and Royal Academician in 1791. From 1790 his exhibits there included English landscapes. He made several sketching tours in Wales and Derbyshire, delineating the rocky terrain with the same studious, attentive eye that he had bent on less familiar regions. He appears never to have essayed imaginative or deliberately romantic subjects. His draughtsmanship is invariably fine and detailed. His coloring is restrained and delicate: the contemporary comment of Edward Edwards that he is frequently too gaudy is difficult to understand. (National Gallery of Art).
Rare.
with a priest making his offering in a Morai, in Huoheine
Aquatint
John Webber artist
1809
Mat Height 20" Width 24" image Height 12 1/2" Width 17"
Provenance: Sothebys New York Lot 182 2006
John Dominis Holt, Honolulu, HI
WEBBER, John, R.A. (1751-1793). A Toopapaoo of a Chief, with a Priest making his Offering to the Morai, in Huoheine, Plate 8. Aquatint engraving with original hand color. London: Boydell & Company: 1809. 16 1/4” x 21” sheet. IMAGES FROM ONE OF THE FINEST COLLECTIONS OF VIEWS IN THE ANNALS OF PACIFIC EXPLORATION.
In 1776, through the influence of Dr. Solander, he was appointed official draughtsman on Captain Cook’s third voyage. Cook himself emphasized the importance of professional drawings as a complement to scientific records: Mr. Webber was engaged to embark with me, he wrote, for the express purpose of supplying the unavoidable imperfections of written accounts. Webber made numerous drawings not only of landscape but also, in Cook’s words, of everything that was curious, both within and without doors. His sketches of natives, their houses, clothing, utensils, and customs add a vivid gloss to Cook’s narrative. Webber was an eyewitness of Cook’s death, and his painting of it, engraved by Byrne and Bartolozzi, became the standard representation of that tragic event.
On his return to London, Webber superintended the engraving of his drawings for the official account of the expedition published by the Admiralty in 1784, although his sketches of native faces and costume inevitably suffered some Europeanization in the engravers hands. Webber himself engraved and published a series of Views in the South Seas (1787-92), and exhibited at the Royal Academy several paintings based on the voyage. He was elected Associate of the Royal Academy in 1785, and Royal Academician in 1791. From 1790 his exhibits there included English landscapes. He made several sketching tours in Wales and Derbyshire, delineating the rocky terrain with the same studious, attentive eye that he had bent on less familiar regions. He appears never to have essayed imaginative or deliberately romantic subjects. His draughtsmanship is invariably fine and detailed. His coloring is restrained and delicate: the contemporary comment of Edward Edwards that he is frequently too gaudy is difficult to understand. (National Gallery of Art).
Rare.
with a priest making his offering in a Morai, in Huoheine
Aquatint
John Webber artist
1809
Mat Height 20" Width 24" image Height 12 1/2" Width 17"
Provenance: Sothebys New York Lot 182 2006
John Dominis Holt, Honolulu, HI
WEBBER, John, R.A. (1751-1793). A Toopapaoo of a Chief, with a Priest making his Offering to the Morai, in Huoheine, Plate 8. Aquatint engraving with original hand color. London: Boydell & Company: 1809. 16 1/4” x 21” sheet. IMAGES FROM ONE OF THE FINEST COLLECTIONS OF VIEWS IN THE ANNALS OF PACIFIC EXPLORATION.
In 1776, through the influence of Dr. Solander, he was appointed official draughtsman on Captain Cook’s third voyage. Cook himself emphasized the importance of professional drawings as a complement to scientific records: Mr. Webber was engaged to embark with me, he wrote, for the express purpose of supplying the unavoidable imperfections of written accounts. Webber made numerous drawings not only of landscape but also, in Cook’s words, of everything that was curious, both within and without doors. His sketches of natives, their houses, clothing, utensils, and customs add a vivid gloss to Cook’s narrative. Webber was an eyewitness of Cook’s death, and his painting of it, engraved by Byrne and Bartolozzi, became the standard representation of that tragic event.
On his return to London, Webber superintended the engraving of his drawings for the official account of the expedition published by the Admiralty in 1784, although his sketches of native faces and costume inevitably suffered some Europeanization in the engravers hands. Webber himself engraved and published a series of Views in the South Seas (1787-92), and exhibited at the Royal Academy several paintings based on the voyage. He was elected Associate of the Royal Academy in 1785, and Royal Academician in 1791. From 1790 his exhibits there included English landscapes. He made several sketching tours in Wales and Derbyshire, delineating the rocky terrain with the same studious, attentive eye that he had bent on less familiar regions. He appears never to have essayed imaginative or deliberately romantic subjects. His draughtsmanship is invariably fine and detailed. His coloring is restrained and delicate: the contemporary comment of Edward Edwards that he is frequently too gaudy is difficult to understand. (National Gallery of Art).
Rare.