Robert Dampier (1799–1874) was a British artist and clergyman.

Life

Dampier was born in 1799 in the village of Codford St Peter in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England. He was baptised on 20 December 1799. He was one of 13 children of Codford St Peter's rector Reverend John Dampier (1763–1839) and his wife Jane. In 1819, he went to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

as a clerk. In 1825, he was picked up in Rio to be the expedition artist on the English ship , under the command of Captain George Anson Byron. The ship was returning the bodies of King

Kamehameha II Kamehameha II (November 1797 – July 14, 1824) was the second king of the Kingdom of Hawaii. His birth name was Liholiho and full name was Kalaninui kua Liholiho i ke kapu ʻIolani. It was lengthened to Kalani Kaleiʻaimoku o Kaiwikapu o Laʻ ...

and Queen

Kamāmalu Kamāmalu Kalani-Kuaʻana-o-Kamehamalu-Kekūāiwa-o-kalani-Kealiʻi-Hoʻopili-a-Walu (–1824) was Queen consort of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi as the wife of King Kamehameha II. Kamāmalu was short for Kamehamalu or Kamehamehamalu meaning "the Shade ...

to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

(known by the British as "Sandwich Islands"). Both the king and the queen had died from

measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

during a visit to England. Robert Dampier spent 11 weeks in Hawaii painting portraits in oil paint and making pencil drawings of landscapes. After returning to England, he studied law at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and was then ordained in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. He married Sophia Francis Roberts in 1828. In 1837, he became

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Langton Matravers Langton Matravers () is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Purbeck, in the county of Dorset in the south of England. It is situated about west of Swanage town centre and south-east of Corfe Castle. In the 2011 Census the civil parish had ...

church. Around 1843, the couple had a daughter who was named Juliana Sophia. Robert Dampier was widowed in 1864. He remarried in 1872 and had a daughter named Frederika by his second wife. Alongside his duties as a rector he continued to sketch until his death in 1874.

Collections

Major works by Robert Dampier are held by the

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. The museum has one of the largest single col ...

. The historic site

Washington Place Washington Place is a Greek Revival palace in the Hawaii Capital Historic District in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was where Queen Liliuokalani was arrested during the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Later it became the official residence of the governo ...

, also in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

and a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

since 2008, also holds major works by Dampier.

Paintings

Image:Robert_Dampier's_oil_on_canvas_painting_'Karaikapa,_a_Native_of_the_Sandwich_Islands',_1825.jpg, Robert Dampier's oil on canvas painting '' 'Karaikapa, a Native of the Sandwich Islands'', 1825 Image:Robert_Dampier's_oil_on_canvas_painting_'Tetuppa,_a_Native_Female_of_the_Sandwich_Islands',_1825.jpg, Robert Dampier's oil on canvas painting ''Tetuppa, a Native Female of the Sandwich Islands'', 1825 File:Robert Dampier (1800-1874) - Kamehameha III, 1825.jpg, Portrait of King

Kamehameha III Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name is Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula K� ...

of Hawaii, oil on canvas painting, 1825,

File:Robert_Dampier_(1800–1874),_Nahiennaena_(1825).jpg, Portrait of Princess Nahiennaena of Hawaii, oil on canvas painting, 1825,

File:'The H. M. S. Blonde', by Robert Dampier, 1825, Washington Place.jpg, HMS ''Blonde'', 1825 File:Robert Dampier - Vista da entrada da barra do Rio de Janeiro e Igreja da Glória do Outeiro.JPG, View of the entrance to

and Sugarloaf Mountain, 1824

Life

Collections

Paintings

References

Further reading