A Gang-gang Cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum).

[London, 1829]. Body colour, watercolour with touches of gum arabic, and pen and grey ink on paper watermarked J. Watman, measuring 440 x 330 mm; signed, inscribed and dated I.r. D & P by Thos. Lewin 1829; verso inscribed in a contemporary hand in pen and brown ink: Species from New Holland (very scarce) Lewin. [and in pencil] Drawn and painted / from Nature and Correct / [xxx] Colors and all Honor[s] T. Lewin London Jany 1829; framed.

A superb depiction of an Australian Gang-gang cockatoo by Thomas Lewin (1774-1840), son of artist William Lewin (known for Birds of Great Britain), and younger brother of John William Lewin (best known for his Birds of New Holland and Birds of New South Wales).

The Gang-gang cockatoo is native to southeastern Australia. The first sighting by Europeans was made in 1801 on Churchill Island (Western Port) by the crew of The Lady Nelson during its surveying voyage under the command of James Grant; the poor bird was promptly shot. Worthy of note is the fact that the artist John Lewin sailed on this expedition on board the sloop Bee, which acted as a tender for The Lady Nelson. However, he was not an eyewitness to the sighting and shooting of the unfortunate specimen: the Bee did not call at Churchill Island that day because of inclement weather.

The contemporary inscription on the verso of the present work states that it was drawn from life. This is perfectly plausible, since the Gang-gang is a hardy bird and frequently survived the voyage back to England. There is every chance that this particular specimen had been acquired by one of the many private and public menageries of exotic creatures from the New World assembled in Britain in the Georgian era; Thomas Lewin’s work was quite possibly commissioned by the owner of one of these extraordinary collections.

The Lewin family had an abiding interest in ornithology; they also had close connections with Australia. William Lewin was a friend of John Latham – sometimes referred to as the “grandfather of Australian ornithology” – to whom he dedicated his magnum opus The Birds of Great Britain, with their eggs, accurately figured (1789-94). His sons, John William and Thomas, who were, like their father, also collectors and illustrators, assisted with the illustrations of the second edition of Birds of Great Britain. In 1798 John Lewin made the voyage to Australia, armed with a recommendation from the Home Secretary, the Duke of Portland, to the Governor of New South Wales, John Hunter. John Lewin – as the first free-settler professional artist – became one the best known and most significant artists working in Australia in this period, his legacy being a rich pictorial record of the colony created through landscape paintings, portrait miniatures, and depictions of First Nations people and natural history subjects such as birds, insects and plants.

Lewin published his first book in 1805, Prodromus Entomology: Natural History of Lepidopterous Insects of New South Wales. His second and most famous work, published in London in 1808, was the Birds of New Holland, with their Natural History; in Sydney in 1813, government printer George Howe printed a new edition titled Birds of New South Wales, which was the first illustrated book published in Australia. Although John Lewin never returned to England – he died in Sydney in 1819 – his brother Thomas was still able to collaborate with him professionally. Thomas oversaw and edited the London editions of John Lewin’s books, writing the prefaces for them and organising contributions from scientific experts.