Lycett Collection

Joseph Lycett’s collection offers a fascinating exploration of 19th-century Australia, showcasing his unique perspective as a convict-turned-artist. His works include detailed portrayals of Aboriginal life, revealing their daily activities and cultural practices. Lycett also captured the natural beauty of Australian landscapes and native plants, blending European artistic techniques with local subjects. This collection not only provides insights into the environment and society of the time but also serves as a historical record, highlighting the interactions between Aboriginal people and European settlers. It's a valuable resource for understanding Australia’s cultural heritage and the diverse narratives that shaped its history.

Collection highlights

A hand drawn picture of a spreading shrub with egg-shaped, pointed leaves and red tube-shaped flowers

Joseph Lycett, Epacris grandiflora from Australia, 1820, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-134641289

An illustrated book cover with 3 kangaroos and 3 emus in the foreground surrounded by native flora, with a lake and trees in the background

Joseph Lycett, Views in Australia, or, New South Wales & Van Diemen's Land delineated, in fifty views with descriptive letter press, dedicated by permission to the Right Honble. Earl Bathurst, 1824, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1022559244

Two people overlooking the rolling hills of paramatta, with the small township in the distance.

Joseph Lycett, Parramatta, New South Wales, 1824, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-895351984

Key items in the collection

This collection hosts a range of formats, including:

The collection features a range of works by Joseph Lycett, including watercolours, drawings, and printed views.

Watercolours

Album of 20 watercolours (1820-1822): Most of these depict Aboriginal people around Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Port Stephens, and Myall Lakes, showing daily activities like hunting, fishing, and cultural ceremonies. One of the paintings is a landscape view of Sydney and Sydney Harbour.
22 individual watercolours: Nine of these are landscapes showing views of Sydney, Parramatta, Port Macquarie, Lake Patterson, and Hobart, some dating back to 1819-1820.

Drawings

13 botanical drawings: These focus on flowering shrubs and trees such as Blandfordia, Hibiscus grandiflora, Melaleuca fulgens, and Epacris grandiflora, with titles written in Lycett's own hand.

Views in Australia (1824-1825)

This work was originally published in 13 parts and features 50 views split between New South Wales and Tasmania. These include detailed scenes of places like Sydney, Hobart, and the Derwent River, along with the estates of notable settlers. The prints were initially lithographs and later released as aquatints. Some illustrations were altered to fit the aesthetic style of the time, emphasising a more European look.

About Joseph Lycett

Joseph Lycett (c. 1775–1828) was born in Staffordshire, England, and trained as a portrait and miniature painter. In 1811, he was convicted of forgery and sentenced to 14 years of transportation to Australia. Arriving in Sydney in 1814, Lycett initially worked as a clerk under a ticket of leave. However, in 1815, he was caught forging again and sent to Newcastle to work in the coal mines. His artistic talent was soon recognized by Captain James Wallis, who put Lycett to work creating plans for a church and painting an altarpiece.

Artistic career in Australia

By 1820, Lycett was back in Sydney, making a living as a painter. His work caught the attention of Governor Macquarie and his wife, Elizabeth, who became his patrons. Lycett also painted views of Tasmania, though it’s uncertain if he ever visited the island—he may have based his artwork on the sketches of others. In 1821, Lycett received an absolute pardon, allowing him to return to England the following year.

Return to England

Once back in England, Lycett printed and published two large lithographs of Sydney and Hobart in 1823. He followed this with his famous series, Views in Australia, released in twelve parts between 1824 and 1825, dedicated to Lord Bathurst, the Secretary of State for the Colonies. Little is known about Lycett’s later years, except that he died in Birmingham in 1828. His detailed views of early colonial Australia remain significant records of the time.

Background to the collection

In 1950, two watercolours by Lycett, depicting scenes of Hobart, were purchased from the London antiquarian booksellers Maggs Brothers. The 1959 acquisition of the Nan Kivell Collection included 18 of Lycett's watercolours. In 1972, an album of watercolours - mostly illustrating Aboriginal people of the Newcastle region - was bought at a Sotheby's sale in London. This album had previously belonged to the La Trobe family, having been acquired by Charles La Trobe, son of the Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, in 1872.

Joseph Lycett's drawings and prints are part of the Pictures Collection, stored across various locations. Each piece has been individually catalogued and digitised. The Lycett album was reproduced in 1990.

Lycett's paintings and drawings can be found in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, the Mitchell Library (State Library of New South Wales), the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Newcastle Region Art Gallery, and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.

This guide was prepared using these references:

Jocelyn Hackforth-Jones, The convict artists, Melbourne, Macmillan, 1977
Jeanette Hoorn and Elizabeth Imashev, Lycett, Joseph, in The dictionary of Australian artists, edited by Joan Kerr, Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 1992, pp. 482-84
The Lycett album : drawings of Aborigines and Australian scenery, with commentary by Jeanette Hoorn, Canberra, National Library of Australia, 1990
John McPhee ed., Joseph Lycett: convict artist, Sydney, Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales, 2006
Rex Rienits, Joseph Lycett (1774-1828), Australian Dictionary of Biography online
John Turner, Joseph Lycett: Governor Macquarie’s convict artist, Newcastle, Hunter History Publications, 1997