This book reveals some of the remarkable colonial works that form the
cornerstones of the National Gallery of Australia's collection of
Australian prints.
The earliest intaglio prints were produced in New South Wales by a free
settler, John Lewin, whose exquisitely hand-colored etchings of moths
and birds were published in 1805 and 1808-13. The first views of the
colony to be printed locally were published in 1812-14 by an
entrepreneurial emancipist and engraved by the convicts assigned to him.
From a culture of "making do" in the early decades of the penal
settlement, the extent, quality, and scope of print production increased
exponentially and kept pace with developments overseas. The backgrounds
of the printmakers whose work is discussed varied greatly, with
professional trade workers and artists making equally important
contributions. By the mid-nineteenth century, printmaking was firmly
established in key areas of commercial enterprise, science,
architecture, art, advertising, illustrated books, and newspapers.
Through the second half of the century printmaking in Australia
continued to match developments overseas. One particular high point for
wood-engravers was the production of the lavish Picturesque Atlas of
Australasia, published between 1886-88, to coincide with the centenary
of European settlement. Printed Images in Colonial Australia concludes
with the photogravure of Tom Roberts's painting commissioned to
celebrate the federation of the Australian states in 1901.
The 377 images reproduced here, many of them exceedingly rare or long
overlooked, are presented alongside Roger Butler's original research and
information not previously assembled to give full weight to the
important role of the printed image in Australian art and culture.
