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Sydney Parkinson (c. 1745 – 26 January 1771) was a Scottish
botanical illustrator Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species, frequently in watercolor paintings. They must be scientifically accurate but often also have an artistic component and may be printed with a botanical ...
and natural history artist. He was the first European artist to visit Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti. Parkinson was the first
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
to visit New Zealand.


Early life and family

Parkinson was born in Edinburgh; his parents were the Edinburgh brewer Joel Parkinson, a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
, and his wife Elizabeth. His birth year is usually given as , but is somewhat suspect as his mother was born . He had a brother, Stanfield, and a sister, whose name was Britannia. The parents were members of the Edinburgh meeting of Quakers; John Fothergill was another member. Parkinson's father died in 1749, leaving the family in financial difficulties. Parkinson became apprentice of a woollen draper. According to his brother, he took "a particular delight in drawing flowers, fruits and other objects of natural history", becoming "so great a proficient in that stile of painting, as to attract the notice of the most celebrated botanists." While no direct evidence exists that Parkinson received formal training in art, he has been connected to William Delacour, who taught drawing and design at the Trustees' Academy, and may have been influenced by other Edinburgh artists.


London

The family moved to London , where Parkinson's brother Stanfield worked as an upholsterer. In 1765 and 1766, some of Parkinson's flower paintings and drawings were shown at
Free Society of Artists The Society of Artists of Great Britain was founded in London in May 1761 by an association of artists in order to provide a venue for the public exhibition of recent work by living artists, such as was having success in the long-established ...
exhibitions. Parkinson began to give drawing lessons, and the Scottish nurseryman James Lee, a fellow Quaker, employed him as teacher to his daughter
Ann Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
. Lee introduced Parkinson to
Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
in 1767. Through Banks, Parkinson also established contact with the zoologist
Thomas Pennant Thomas Pennant (14 June Old Style, OS 172616 December 1798) was a Welsh natural history, naturalist, traveller, writer and antiquarian. He was born and lived his whole life at his family estate, Downing Hall near Whitford, Flintshire, in Wales ...
. Parkinson produced copies of some animal paintings in the collection of
Joan Gideon Loten Joan Gideon Loten (also spelt Johan or John, in school records as Johannes Gideon Looten) (16 May 1710 – 25 February 1789) was a Dutch servant in the colonies of the Dutch East India Company, the 29th Governor of Zeylan, Fellow of the Royal So ...
, which were later published in some of Pennant's zoological books. His watercolours of birds of the Loten collection were painted in 1767, either from specimens or from drawings. Together with a fellow artist, Peter Paillou, Parkinson worked for Banks on the latter's collections from his 1766 voyage to
Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
. He produced drawings and watercolour paintings of animals, from specimens preserved in alcohol or stuffed birds. When Banks planned a voyage to Sweden in order to meet
Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
in
Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...
and to see Lapland, he intended to take Parkinson as his draughtsman.


Voyage with Captain Cook

Parkinson was employed by
Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
to travel with him on James Cook's first voyage to the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
in 1768, in
HMS Endeavour HMS ''Endeavour'' was a British Royal Navy research vessel that Lieutenant James Cook commanded to Australia and New Zealand on his first voyage of discovery from 1768 to 1771. She was launched in 1764 as the collier ''Earl of Pembroke'', ...
. Parkinson made nearly a thousand drawings of plants and animals collected by Banks and
Daniel Solander Daniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander (19 February 1733 – 13 May 1782) was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Solander was the first university-educated scientist to set foot on Australian soil. Biography ...
on the voyage. He had to work in difficult conditions, living and working in a small cabin surrounded by hundreds of specimens. In
Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
he was plagued by swarms of flies which ate the paint as he worked. He died at sea on the way to
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
of
dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
contracted at Princes' Island off the western end of
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
. Banks paid his outstanding salary to his brother. Before his travels Parkinson had taught illustration to
Ann Lee Ann Lee (29 February 1736 – 8 September 1784), commonly known as Mother Ann Lee, was the founding leader of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, or the Shakers. After nearly two decades of participation in a r ...
, daughter of James Lee a Hammersmith nurseryman for whom he had made illustrations. In his will Parkinson left "whatever utensils that are useful in painting or drawing to Mr. Lee’s daughter, my scholar."


Journal

Parkinson kept a journal on board the ship until shortly before his death in January 1771. While the fair copy of the journal was lost and never found, Stanfield Parkinson obtained some of his brother's papers from Banks in 1773, and decided to publish them earlier than John Hawkesworth's official publication of Cook's and Banks's journals. A legal injunction obtained by Hawkesworth prevented the publication until two days after his book had appeared on 10 June 1773.


Legacy

Parkinson is commemorated in the common and scientific name of the Parkinson's petrel ''Procellaria parkinsoni''. The great
Florilegium In medieval Latin, a ' (plural ') was a compilation of excerpts or sententia from other writings and is an offshoot of the commonplacing tradition. The word is from the Latin ''flos'' (flower) and '' legere'' (to gather): literally a gathering of ...
of his work was finally published in 1988 by Alecto Historical Editions in 35 volumes and has since been digitized by the Natural History Museum in London. In 1986 he was honoured on a
postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...
depicting his portrait issued by Australia Post. __NOTOC__ The following are some examples of Parkinson's artistic work: Image:Banksia serrata watercolour from Bank's Florilegium.jpg, ''
Banksia serrata ''Banksia serrata'', commonly known as the saw banksia, the old man banksia, the saw-tooth banksia or the red honeysuckle and as wiriyagan by the Cadigal people, is a species of woody shrub or tree of the genus ''Banksia'', in the family Prote ...
'' Image:Banksia integrifolia watercolour from Banks' Florilegium.jpg, ''
Banksia integrifolia ''Banksia integrifolia'', commonly known as the coast banksia, is a species of tree that grows along the east coast of Australia. One of the most widely distributed ''Banksia'' species, it occurs between Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Cen ...
'' Image:Banksia ericifolia watercolour from Bank's Florilegium.jpg, ''
Banksia ericifolia ''Banksia ericifolia'', the heath-leaved banksia, or lantern banksia, is a species of woody shrub of the family Proteaceae native to Australia. It grows in two separate regions of Central and Northern New South Wales east of the Great Dividing ...
'' Image:Banksia dentata watercolour from Bank's Florilegium.jpg, ''
Banksia dentata ''Banksia dentata'', commonly known as the tropical banksia, is a species of tree in the genus ''Banksia''. It occurs across northern Australia, southern New Guinea and the Aru Islands. Growing as a gnarled tree to high, it has large green l ...
''


See also

*
Visual arts of Australia Australian art is any art made in or about Australia, or by Australians overseas, from prehistoric times to the present. This includes Aboriginal, Colonial, Landscape, Atelier, early-twentieth-century painters, print makers, photographers, ...
*
List of Australian botanical illustrators This is a list of botanical illustrators who were/are active or born in Australia. Botanical illustration involves the painting, drawing and illustration of plants and ecosystems. Often meticulously observed, the botanical art tradition combin ...
*
European and American voyages of scientific exploration The era of European and American voyages of scientific exploration followed the Age of Discovery and were inspired by a new confidence in science and reason that arose in the Age of Enlightenment. Maritime expeditions in the Age of Discovery were ...


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Parkinson's posthumously published ''Journal'', 1773
online at the
National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

Examples of Parkinson's drawings published in ''A journal of a voyage to the South Seas, in His Majesty's ship, the Endeavour'', 1773. Royal Geographical Society of South Australia
*


Further reading

* de Bray, Lys (2001). ''The Art of Botanical Illustration: A history of classic illustrators and their achievements'', pp. 72, 77. Quantum Publishing Ltd., London. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Parkinson, Sydney 1745 births 1771 deaths British naturalists James Cook Scientific illustrators Botanical illustrators British bird artists Scottish Quakers People who died at sea Artists from Edinburgh Deaths from dysentery