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first contact

The McMaster Museum of Art

First Contact?

Artists of the Cook Voyages

August 26, 2011 - January 7, 2012

Reception: Thursday September 15, 6-8 pm

As Australian art historian Bernard Smith wrote, the three voyages of Captain Cook (between 1768 and 1780) greatly enhanced the economic and political power of Europe in the Pacific, and added appreciably to a body of knowledge in the areas of botany, meteorology and a "nascent science of ethnography."

The Cook voyages were not the absolute first contact, but they represented the first encyclopaedic and rigorous scientific exploration and documentation of the Pacific Rim and Antipodes. To this end, Cook was astute in enlisting professional artists to record plants, land, "effects" and people, and placed unprecedented demands on their skills and inventive responses, underscored by the instructions he gave; "to observe the Genius, Temper and Disposition…of the Natives and Inhabitants."

While this visual record is rarely considered within art history, Smith argued forcefully that it made a significant contribution to European empiricism of the 18th century. He proposed that it characterized a new respect and appreciation for drawing in the 18th century.

First Contact? is drawn from the collections of the Library and Archives Canada and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, including 2nd and 3rd voyage drawings by artists William Hodges and John Webber, and related works by Nathaniel Dance, James Basire, John Keyse Shirwin, and William Woollett. A complement component, from the McMaster Museum of Art collection, are works on paper by François Boucher, John Flaxman, Thomas Gainsborough, James Jeffreys and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.

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List of Works in Exhibition

John Webber (English 1751-1793)

A Man of Nootka Sound, 1784
copper engraving
Collection of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Purchase Fund

A Woman of Nootka Sound, 1784
copper engraving
Collection of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Purchase Fund

A View of the Habitations in Nootka Sound, 1784
copper engraving
Collection of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Purchase Fund

The Inside of a House in Nootka Sound, 1784
steel engraving with coloured ink
Collection of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Gift of George & Lola Kidd

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Monuments in Easter Island
(part of The Journal of Cook’s Voyages, Volume I)
William Woollett (engraver); William Hodges (artist)
1776-1777
Etching and engraving on laid paper
Library and Archives Canada, 1991-265-56, Copy # e010933038

Monuments in Easter Island
(partie du volume 1 de The Journal of Cook’s Voyages)
William Woollett (graveur); William Hodges (artiste)
1776–1777
gravure à l’acide et gravure sur papier vergé
Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 1991-265-56, No de copie: e010933038

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The Landing at Middleburgh, one of the Friendly Islands
(part of The Journal of Cook’s Voyages, Volume I)
John Keyse Shirwin (engraver); William Hodges (artist)
1776-1777
Etching and engraving on laid paper
Library and Archives Canada, 1991-265-50, Copy # e010933040

The Landing at Middleburgh, one of the Friendly Islands
(partie du volume 1 de The Journal of Cook’s Voyages)
John Keyse Shirwin (graveur); William Hodges (artiste)
1776–1777
gravure à l’acide et gravure sur papier vergé
Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 1991-265-50, No de copie : e010933040

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The Landing at Mallicolo, one of the New Hebrides
(part of The Journal of Cook’s Voyages, Volume I)
James Basire (engraver); William Hodges (artist)
1776-1777
Etching and engraving on laid paper
Library and Archives Canada, 1991-265-67, Copy # e010933041

The Landing at Mallicolo, one of the New Hebrides
(partie du volume 1 de The Journal of Cook’s Voyages)
James Basire (graveur); William Hodges (artiste)
1776–1777
gravure à l’acide et gravure sur papier vergé
Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 1991-265-67, No de copie: e010933041

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Hitihiti, also known as Oediddee, Oedidee, O’Hedidee, and Mahine, A Man of Ulietea, or Raiatea, one of the Bora Bora Islands, taken on board the Resolution on 17 September 1773
William Hodges
Red chalk, over black chalk or charcoal outline, on laid paper
1773
Library and Archives Canada, 1991-265-242, Copy # e010933042

Hitihiti, also known as Oediddee, Oedidee, O’Hedidee, and Mahine, A Man of Ulietea, or Raiatea, one of the Bora Bora Islands, taken on board the Resolution on 17 September 1773
William Hodges
sanguine, sur pierre noire ou contour fusain, sur papier vergé
1773
Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 1991-265-242, No de copie: e010933042

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Hitihiti, also known as Oediddee, Oedidee, O’Hedidee, and Mahine, A Man of Ulietea, or Raiatea, one of the Bora Bora Islands, taken on board the Resolution on 17 September 1773
William Hodges
Charcoal or black chalk, heightened with white chalk, on laid paper
1773
Library and Archives Canada, 1991-265-241, Copy # e010933043

Hitihiti, also known as Oediddee, Oedidee, O’Hedidee, and Mahine, A Man of Ulietea, or Raiatea, one of the Bora Bora Islands, taken on board the Resolution on 17 September 1773
William Hodges
fusain ou pierre noire, intensifié avec craie blanche, sur papier vergé
1773
Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 1991-265-241, No de copie: e010933043

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A Man of Tanna, one of the New Hebrides, erroneously described as the King of Otaheite
William Hodges
Charcoal or black chalk, heightened with white chalk, on laid paper
1774
Library and Archives Canada, 1991-265-240, Copy # e010933044

A Man of Tanna, one of the New Hebrides, erroneously described as the King of Otaheite
William Hodges
fusain ou pierre noire, intensifié avec craie blanche, sur papier vergé
1774
Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 1991-265-240, No de copie: e010933044

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Woman of New Zealand
William Hodges
Charcoal or black chalk, heightened with white chalk, on laid paper
1772-1775
Library and Archives Canada, 1991-265-239, Copy # e010933045

Woman of New Zealand
William Hodges
fusain ou pierre noire, intensifié avec craie blanche, sur papier vergé
1772–1775
Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 1991-265-239, No de copie: e010933045

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Man of Mallicola
William Hodges
Charcoal or black chalk, heightened with white chalk, on laid paper
ca. 1780
Library and Archives Canada, 1991-265-238, Copy # e010933046

Man of Mallicola
William Hodges
fusain ou pierre noire, intensifié avec craie blanche, sur papier vergé
vers 1780
Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 1991-265-238, No de copie: e010933046

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The Landing at Erramanga, one of the New Hebrides
Giovanni Battista Cipriani (copyist); William Hodges (artist)
Pen pencil and brown wash on laid paper
1780-1784
Library and Archives Canada, 1991-265-237, Copy # e010933047

The Landing at Erramanga, one of the New Hebrides
Giovanni Battista Cipriani (copiste); William Hodges (artiste)
stylo crayon et lavis brun sur papier vergé
1780–1784
Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 1991-265-237, No de copie: e010933047

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Portrait of Omai
Nathaniel Dance-Holland
Black and red chalks, with touches of charcoal, on laid paper
1774
Library and Archives Canada, 1991-265-230, Copy # c002446k, e010933049

Portrait of Omai
Nathaniel Dance-Holland
pierre noire et sanguine, avec touches de fusain, sur papier vergé
1774
Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 1991-265-230, No de copie: c002446k, e010933049

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Nootka Man Preparing for Hunting
John Webber
Red chalk on laid paper
1778-1785
Library and Archives Canada, 1990-231-1, Copy # e010933048

Nootka Man Preparing for Hunting
John Webber
sanguine sur papier vergé
1778–1785
Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 1990-231-1, No de copie : e010933048

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Kayak with two Natives of Prince William Sound
Unknown artist (copyist); John Webber (artist)
Pen and grey ink with grey wash over pencil on wove paper
1778-1785
Library and Archives Canada, 1990-231-2, Copy # e010933050

Kayak with two Natives of Prince William Sound
artiste inconnu (copiste); John Webber (artiste)
stylo et encre gris avec lavis gris sur crayon sur papier vélin
1778–1785
Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 1990-231-2, No de copie: e010933050

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Kayak of Unalaska
Unknown artist (copyist); John Webber (artist)
Pen and grey ink with grey wash over pencil on wove paper
1778-1785
Library and Archives Canada, 1990-231-3, Copy # e010933051

Kayak of Unalaska
artiste inconnu (copiste); John Webber (artiste)
stylo et encre grise avec lavis gris sur crayon sur papier vélin
1778–1785
Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 1990-231-3, No de copie: e010933051

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18th CENTURY DRAWINGS

François Boucher (French 1703-1770)

A Peasant Family on the way to market, n.d.
oiled black chalk on paper
McMaster Museum of Art,
Levy Bequest, Purchase 1993

Joseph resisting seduction by Potiphar’s Wife, n.d.
black chalk, pen and brown ink, brown wash heightened with white,
on paper
McMaster Museum of Art,
Levy Bequest, Purchase 1993

John Flaxman (English 1755-1826)

St. Augustine’s Arrival in Britain, c.1783
grey wash on paper
McMaster Museum of Art,
Levy Bequest, Purchase 1993

The Nymphs of the Ocean, c.1795
grey wash on paper
McMaster Museum of Art,
Levy Bequest, Purchase 1993

Thomas Gainsborough (English 1727-1788)

Shepherds and sheep in a wooded landscape, n.d.
black chalk, watercolour and body colour
McMaster Museum of Art,
Levy Bequest, Purchase 1992

Attributed to James Jefferys (English 1751-1784)

The crucifixion (Deposition), 1779
pen and ink on paper
McMaster Museum of Art,
Levy Bequest, Purchase 1993

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Italian 1696-1770)

Head of an Oriental, turned to the left, n.d.
black chalk, pen and brown ink, brown wash, on paper
McMaster Museum of Art,
Levy Bequest, Purchase 1993

Leonard Baskin (American 1922-2000)

John Woolman’s Dream of the Fox and Cat, 1970
Woodcut ed 49/50
McMaster Museum of Art,
Promised gift of Rabbi Bernard Baskin, 2011