FAKES, FUDGES & FORGERIES
Top End Pictures of Doubtful Parentage
Westall Original or Doctored Baxter Print
Both works shown below are in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia - on the left is attributed to George Baxter - the other William Westall.
George Baxter print unsigned
|
Signed & dated W. Westall 1802
|
1. Who would make the crass blunder of putting seals in an image of tropical Australia? - Westall who had been there or Baxter who had not.
2. If it's not a Westall painting & there's no signature on Baxter's engraved plate - who put Westall's signature on a Baxter print & got the year wrong.
2. If it's not a Westall painting & there's no signature on Baxter's engraved plate - who put Westall's signature on a Baxter print & got the year wrong.
In 1837 British printer George Baxter published a colourful & highly inventive image inspired by Matthew Flinders' circumnavigation of Australia. Baxter's print was remarkable for his novel use of oil based printers' inks in the colours of an artist's palette of oil based paints. Baxter's print was not signed by Westall and was simply a dramatic illustration for a 'Penny Dreadful' style romantic fantasy that he was printing entitled "The Avenger and His Bride". The engraver had seen Westall's images of the Australian coast - but obviously never been there - because he used seals from a Westall image of the south coast of Australia & transported them 3000kms north into the tropics. Neither artist had set foot on Cape Wilberforce as Flinders would certainly not have anchored anywhere near this dangerous maw at the north western extremity of the Gulf of Carpentaria.
In 1976, the National Gallery of Australia purchased the Baxter image signed & dated by Westall which it displays as a Westall painting and has developed a comprehensive conservation management plan. In 1981, the National Gallery of Australia purchased a print of the same image without the Westall signature which it displays as a George Baxter print.
In 1976, the National Gallery of Australia purchased the Baxter image signed & dated by Westall which it displays as a Westall painting and has developed a comprehensive conservation management plan. In 1981, the National Gallery of Australia purchased a print of the same image without the Westall signature which it displays as a George Baxter print.
A detailed examination of Westall's works including analysis of this forgery may be found on the accompany page for William Westall - see button below.
A Royal Yacht or a Pirate Slaver
Pisang Island is just west of Singapore & Guebe Island is in the Halmahera Sea off the tip of West Papua, The Sulu Sea is SW part of the Philippines.
Corocores by Alphonse Pellion 1817.
King of Guebe Is's boat Pisang in the background
|
Garay warships of pirates in the Sulu Sea Wikiwand
|
Caraccore of the King of Guebe before Pisang 1818 likely Jacques Arago
|
Caraccore of King Guébé - Moluccas Indonesia Engraving 1839
|
HMS Rattlesnake - OW Brierly
The image below shows the Rattlesnake at anchor, into the wind with minimal sail aloft with her mizzen flags & pennants streaming astern.
HMS Rattlesnake RMG PAF5620 1853 Oswald Walters Brierly
|
HMS Rattlesnake signed OW Brierly - SLNSW SAFE / PXC 281
Attributed to Owen Stanley - leaving Port Essington 17/11/1848
|
This image signed by Brierly & attributed to Owen Stanley shows the Rattlesnake at anchor, heading into a stiff breeze, with the flags billowing astern. In contrast at right - from the cover of Alan Powell's book Northern Voyagers & attributed to "Brierly from Owen Stanley" shows here in full sail whilst the Blue Ensign behind the spanker is still billowing astern.
The canoe full of Aboriginals is a recurrent image in variously attributed incarnations detailed below.
The canoe full of Aboriginals is a recurrent image in variously attributed incarnations detailed below.
Victoria Settlement - Port Essington NT 1838-1849
Victoria, Port Essington, new Holland Hatfield, Thomas S. ca. 1838-1839 SV3.8B/Pr Ess/1 - Mitchell Library. Initials TSH
SLNSW [View of Port Essington 183-?]/ W. Nicholas, William, ca. 1807-1854 [183-?] DG SSV3.8/1 Signed by Nicholas
After an original by seaman Tyres of HMS Alligator 1839 (National Maritime Museum)