CONRAD MARTENS and ILLAWARRA

1835-1878

In Search of the Picturesque

Michael Organ

Illawarra Historical Publications

1 February 1993

ILLAWARRA HISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS 26 Popes Road Woonona, 2517 c Michael Organ 1991 This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission. Inquiries to be made to Illawarra Historical Publications. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data: Organ, Michael, 1956- Conrad Martens in Illawarra, 1835 Published by Illawarra Historical Publications

Table of Contents Page Table of Contents i Acknowledgments iii Part 1 - Conrad Martens and Illawarra Introduction - Why Illawarra? 1 Conrad Martens & the Picturesque 4 Biographical Sketch 6 Arrival in Australia 7 Journey to Illawarra 11 Illawarra Pencil Sketches 12 Illawarra Art Works 17 Account of Pictures 19 Conrad Martens in Illawarra 25 Summary 31 Bibliography 34 Part 2 - Catalogue of Works Part 3 - Appendices 1 Conrad Martens Genealogy 41 2 Illawarra Art Works - Suggested Titles 42

Tables 1 Conrad Martens 1835 Itinerary 9 2 Illawarra Pencil Sketches 13 3 Rebecca Martens - Illawarra Sketches 16 4 Illawarra Art Works 17 5 Account of Pictures: Illawarra Extracts 20 6 Conrad Martens' Income, 1835-78 23 7 Comparison of Account of Pictures with Surviving Works 24 Letters 1 Conrad Martens to Henry Martens, from aboard HMS Beagle, April 1833 2 Robert Fitzroy to Phillip Parker King 5 November 1834 8

Dedication This monograph is dedicated to those two great collectors of Australiana - Sir William Dixson and David Scott Mitchell - whose foresight, vision and personal collecting habits during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries have resulted in all Australians now possessing a comprehensive collection of pictorial and manuscript material relating to the Australian colonial period artist Conrad Martens. The material I speak of is contained within the walls of the State Library of New South Wales as part of the Mitchell Library and Dixson Library/Dixson Gallery collections. The following work deals with a mere portion of that vast collection of Martens material which numbers some 2500 individual arts works and associated manuscripts. Illawarra paintings and drawings from these collections, along with various other public and private collections throughout Australia and overseas, are discussed below. If not for patrons of the arts and collectors such as Sir William Dixson and David Scott Mitchell, much valuable material pertaining to the relatively short - though rich - art history of Australia since the time of the early explorers and the white invasion of 1788 would now be scattered far and wide throughout the world, instead of being located in local collections. Regional studies such as the following work on Martens and Illawarra would be all that much more difficult to compile - and perhaps even impossible - for in any such study it is usually the case that 75% of total research time is spent in locating and obtaining access to material, followed by about 25% on collation and interpretation. Therefore the value of the Mitchell and Dixson collections in facilitating easy access to the artworks of Conrad Martens is obvious, and is here acknowledged.

Acknowledgments The original idea for this work on Conrad Martens in Illawarra arose following a viewing by the author of a watercolour entitled Boat Harbour, Wollongong, 1835 in the Wollongong City Gallery during. This work had been painted by Conrad Martens and donated to the Gallery by a Perth based collector of Martens material, Dr John L. Raven. Though it was small and rather `browned-out' - possibly as a result of overexposed to light - this watercolour was nevertheless a rare and exquisite work. It was also obvious that the artist was a skilled watercolourist. As an amateur historian especially interested in the history of the Illawarra district prior to the 1850s, I realized that Conrad Martens' visit to the region occurred very early in its history - Wollongong had only been proclaimed a town in 1834. Further investigations into the origin of this painting revealed that it had been based upon a pencil sketch (now in the Mitchell Library) taken by the artist on 8 July 1835, and there were a number of other pencil sketches in the Mitchell and Dixson collections taken during the same period. In any study of Martens, one is inevitably drawn to a reading of the late Lionel Lindsay's definitive work on the artist, titled Conrad Martens: The Man and His Art (Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1920). This book, which is a brief though concise summary of Martens' lifework, stirred my interest to such a degree as to pose a number of questions regarding the artist's journey to Illawarra in 1835 and the various art works which arose from that visit. Precisely when, and for how long did Martens visit Illawarra? Did he make any other trips to the district? What were the circumstances and results of the visit/s - what routes did he take in and out of Illawarra? Who were his guides at the time, and where did he stay during the visit/s? These questions had never been adequately answered, being merely hinted at by Lindsay and other researchers. For while Lionel Lindsay's book eloquently covered many aspects of Martens' life and art, there still remained much to be discovered and written about this supreme watercolourist of Australia's Colonial period. A detailed biography, let alone a catalogue raisonne of his work, had yet to be compiled. Perhaps a reason for this lacking on the part of Australian art historians was the large number of oils, watercolours and pencil sketches (up to 4000 individual works) by Martens which are known to exist throughout the world. The task of researching, compiling, cataloguing, and presenting this collection in a single work is therefore somewhat daunting. As a result of this lack of a comprehensive survey of the art of Conrad Martens, many false assumptions and inaccurate statements have been made concerning his life and art. His long, prolific career as a professional artist - numbering some 50 years between 1828 and 1878 - has not been put into proper perspective despite the abundance of original material available to the art historian and numerous monographs and articles on the man by artists and writers such as Lionel Lindsay, Douglas Dundas and the Reverend Steele. Despite the fact that manuscript records such as Martens' original account books, note books, and correspondence are available to researchers, and a large body of research has already been carried out upon individual paintings. Yet all of this material has still to be brought together, as has been done with contemporary English artists such as J.M.W. Turner and Sir John Constable (and even Australia's own Tom Roberts), all of whom have been the subject of comprehensive catalogue raisonnes. Such a work needs to be compiled in order to do justice to Conrad Martens and his role in the birth of an indigenous Australian landscape art. Previous works dealing with Martens have presented brief

biographies based upon the research of Sir William Dixson and Lionel Lindsay in the 1920s. However they have discussed only sections of the artist's work in any detail. For example, monographs and articles have appeared concerning Martens' time with the Beagle and Charles Darwin during 1833-4; his numerous South American art works (1832-4); his Queensland work arising from a visit there in 1851-2; and his many views of Sydney Harbour between 1835-78. These works have been mostly broad surveys, as was the case with Sir Lionel Lindsay's book and the Dundas book which arose from the S.H. Ervin Gallery Conrad Martens Centenary Exhibition of 1978. The following monograph on Conrad Martens and Illawarra follows previous trends in discussing a mere slice of the artist's lifework, specifically the period surrounding his visit to Illawarra in July 1835, and the subsequent art works arising from that trip. Also included is an updated biographical sketch which addresses many of the inaccuracies surrounding his life prior to his arrival in Australia in April 1835. It can only be hoped that in the near future a comprehensive study of Martens life and work is undertaken. In assisting with the compilation of this work many thanks are due to the staff of the Mitchell and Dixson Libraries and Dixson Gallery, Sydney, for their assistance in the lengthy process of compilation and cataloguing. Special thanks go to Ms Elizabeth Imashev (Mitchell Library Pictures Librarian), and Dianne Rhoades (Dixson Librarian), both of whom assisted the author over a period of many years, and both of whom are also deeply interested in the topic of Conrad Martens - especially as they are responsible for the single biggest holdings of the artist. To Frank Mcdonald of Thirty Victoria Street, my gratitude for access to his wonderful library of Australian art and material on Conrad Martens in particular. Thank you finally to A.P. Doyle for reading drafts for this work and offering many valuable suggestions, and to my wife Jeanette for putting up with my unexplainable desire to research this painter of watercolours. This essay deals with the visit to Illawarra in July 1835 of Conrad Martens, considered by many to be Australia's finest Colonial period landscape painter. Works in oil, watercolour, pencil and lithograph of Illawarra arising from that visit are discussed; as also are Martens' reasons for visiting the area, foremost amongst those being his search for picturesque landscapes in Australia. A Catalogue of Works accompanies the essay.

Introduction During the second half of the 1980s Australia saw an upsurge of interest in local art works of the Colonial period (pre-1880), manifested in the leap in prices realised for examples by artists such as Eugene von Guerard, Conrad Martens, and John Skinner Prout; and a corresponding interest in the artists themselves. This interest peaked around the time of the Bicentennial in 1988, and also coincided with a boom in art investment by collectors such as Alan Bond. Prior to his downfall, Mr Bond was engaged in building perhaps the finest collection of works by Conrad Martens ever to be held in a single private collection. Another result of this renewed interest in Australia's art history during the 1980s has been the recent release of the Dictionary of Australian Artists pre 1870 (Sydney, 1992), edited by Joan Kerr. This work brought together much of the recent research carried out on individual Colonial period artists and sets the foundation for more detailed studies, such as is to be found in the following work on Conrad Martens and Illawarra. What is not so widely realized is the role the Illawarra region played in the developing careers of many of the more famous Colonial period artists. Illawarra is located on the New South Wales coast, approximately 50 miles south of Sydney, and is possessed of a unique landscape. With many artists during the nineteenth century primarily exponents of the landscape genre and specializing in topographical view painting, upon their arrival in Australia they were necessarily interested in the opportunities offered by this antipodean penal colony - a land which in many instances was also to become their new home. Artists such as Conrad Martens were keen to explore this vast, newly discovered, continent. Prior to the 1850s they were mostly confined to coastal regions around towns such as Sydney. However the search for interesting landscapes and subjects took them far and wide up and down the east coast of Australia and to Tasmania. Surprisingly a large number of the Colonial period artists made special visits to Illawarra. Included amongst those travelling painters who visited the region in search of picturesque landscapes were Augustus Earle (1827), Conrad Martens (1835), John Skinner Prout (1841, 1844), George French Angas (1851, 1854), Henry Gritten (1855) and Eugene von Guerard (1859) - all important artists in the annals of Australian history. Later visitors would include Louis Buvelot, Tom Roberts, A.H. Fullwood, Lloyd Rees, Grace Cossington Smith, and Colin Lancely, to name but a few. All the aforementioned Colonial period artists found much of interest topographically and botanically in Illawarra during their respective visits, and though only `passing through' - staying on average for a couple of days - they produced some of their finest works as a result of the visit. But why Illawarra? What was so special about this region? Part of the answer may lie in the fact that despite the area's physical isolation from Sydney (it was only accessible by sea or circuitously via rough bush and mountain tracks), it contained an abundance of naturally picturesque scenery and a rich floral assemblage which could enhance any topographical view, both factors which would have drawn artists to the area and amply rewarded the effort involved in making the difficult journey. No doubt these visits were initiated upon their reading, or being told first-hand of the area's natural beauty and sub-tropical vegetation. The special qualities of the Illawarra, or the Five Islands as it was called prior to 1850, were obviously well known amongst the small artist community of Australia during the nineteenth century.

Though Illawarra is located in relatively close proximity to Sydney, just 50 miles to the south, it was as a result of its geographical isolation and difficulty of access that it was not settled by Europeans until 1815. When they did come they discovered a region with rich soil, ample fresh water, abundant rainfall, temperate climate, and obvious agricultural potential. Needless to say, the local Aborigines had known of the area's beauty for thousands of years, living an idyllic life there hunting amongst its forests and fishing by its beaches, lakes and streams. Following initial white settlement, Illawarra very quickly achieved a reputation as one of the most beautiful areas of mainland Australia. As early as 1823 Barron Field, judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, had commented following a visit to the district, and specifically to Lake Illawarra, south of Wollongong: [Lake Illawarra] was illustrated by natives in their canoes looking very characteristic and beautiful ... The view was so picturesque - the lake, the hills, and the Indians, ̀ The spirit of them all', - as to deserve a painter. (Field, p465) The botanist Peter Cunningham visited Illawarra in 1827 and, obviously impressed by its lush vegetation and salubrious climate, later wrote: ...you fancy yourself transported to some far-distant tropical region. (Cunningham, p116) Illawarra was a veritable Garden of Eden in the years prior to the 1860s, however after this point settlement spread throughout Illawarra and industrialization began on a large scale with the introduction of coal mining along the escarpment, thereby scaring the natural landscape forever. The lushness of Illawarra's sub-tropical coastal vegetation in the early half of the century was a refreshing inspiration for many visiting artists. Being used to the richly varied landscapes, flora, fauna and peoples of Western Europe and the tropics, they had been confronted upon arrival in New South Wales with what they no doubt considered to be a very strange land. Around Sydney it was typified by the relatively barren face of the local terrain - flat rock and dry, scrubby vegetation - and dominated by the eucalyptus and gum trees which, unlike the `nobler' forms of Europe, shed their bark in the autumn and possessed twisted, tortured forms. Not to mention the uniquely different wildlife, and the local Aboriginal natives who failed in the eyes of many Europeans to live up to the ideal of the `noble savage'. Of course Sydney Harbour was always a strikingly beautiful feature of the landscape, and as a result many artists maid it the centrepiece of their work. The barbarity and crudeness of the largely convict society which was New South Wales in the years prior to 1840, and the absence of any real `culture' such as museums, libraries and art galleries, would also have been somewhat disconcerting to many of these wandering artists, especially those who arrived in the Colony as free men and not as convicts. However in such a Gomorrah as New South Wales in the 1830s, their work supplied evidence of gentility, refinement and culture. The art of Conrad Martens is noticeably free of references to this Penal aspect of Australian society, which is strange as he arrived in Sydney in 1835 and the years 1835-40 saw a massive influx of convicts into New South Wales. He therefore could not have failed to observe their excesses, residing as he did at the Rocks. However Martens was primarily a landscape painter, not a cartoonist or satirist, and he remained true to this genre throughout his lifetime. Opposing the obvious crudeness which was a feature of the infant Colony, was the fact that for any visiting artist who bother to travel out beyond the towns, Australia was a newly discovered wilderness, with scant evidence of white man's recent encroachment. Whilst an artist could walk all day without seeing evidence of white or black civilization - something

which was impossible in their home countries - they were also handicapped by the fact that there were no castle ruins, gracious mansions, Greek temples, or snow capped mountains to inspire their pen and form features of their finished landscapes. A relatively flat terrain, dotted with slab huts and a few brick and sandstone buildings, was the order of the day. At least that was the initial impression, for in Illawarra and the Blue Mountains there were landscapes of variety. With such a dearth of man-made structures, especially any of real beauty apart from a few colonial mansions on the shore of Sydney Harbour, landscape painting and portraiture therefore became the dominant art forms in the Colony during the period 1820-1880, following an initial flourish of nature studies. Attuned as they were to observe nature in all its finest detail, these emigrant artists were quickly made aware that Australia was `different' - the green lawns, tendered gardens, and grey skies of Britain and Europe were, in Australia, replaced by the brown earth, monotonous forests, blue skies and brilliant sunshine. It was only in Tasmania that a climate and landscape approximating that of Western Europe, specifically Britain, could be found. Artists such as John Glover and John Skinner Prout found solace there amongst its familiar scenery and enthusiastic art community, however for the majority of our Colonial period artists it was necessary to adapt to what the mainland had to offer. Unable to immediately come to terms with such an unfamiliar environment as Sydney presented them, and more often than not having arrived in the Colony as part of a world tour in a search of Picturesque scenery - one could almost call many of these artists `drifters' e.g. Augustus Earle - they invariably set off from the towns and cities hoping to find more interesting and perhaps familiar scenery. Their wanderings into the bush were also spurred on by the fact that patrons of the arts were a rare breed in Australia during this period and many of the Colony's wealthier citizens were to be found on the land, often in isolated areas located on the very limits of white settlement (e.g. Hannibal Macarthur at Arthursleigh; Alexander Berry at Coolangatta, near Nowra). Upon their arrival in Sydney these artists were immediately confronted with Port Jackson, considered by visitors since the time of the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 to be one of the most beautiful harbours in the world. For this reason it was invariably sketched/painted shortly after their arrival. Yet even the abundant charms of Sydney Harbour were not enough to hold the interests of these wandering artists for more than a few weeks. Only after they had scoured the countryside in the wake of, and sometimes alongside, many of our earliest explorers, did they return to the population centres such as Sydney and Melbourne to settle down and cultivate their clientele, or work up the many rough sketches gathered during those earlier wanderings. Most returned to England after a short stay in which they would gather a folio of material for use upon their return, as there was a thriving market in Europe at the time for views of the Colonies. Some, such as Conrad Martens, would stay, and in his case remain enchanted by Sydney Harbour for the remainder of his life. With most artists travel was a young man's sport, however some, such as Martens and Eugene von Guerard, continued their journeying throughout their lifetime, though at a less hectic pace then in those first few years after arrival. Their later excursions were usually motivated by a search for, or in fulfilment of, commissions, and not as part of some grand tour in search of Picturesque landscapes, though Martens did make one such tour to the Zig Zag Railway at Lithgow in 1872 when aged 71 and just six years prior to his death. The quest for inspirational, picturesque scenery, specifically around Sydney, led many artists to areas such as the Blue Mountains - with its majestic valleys, thick forests, and sublime views - and to Illawarra, with its towering escarpment, golden beaches, and sub-tropical vegetation. In such areas they found the necessary ingredients to produce some of their finest works. However there was more to producing true works of high landscape art than simply finding picturesque localities. Painting in the Picturesque manner, as Martens did, was part of a lifestyle, a regimen involving travel and study. The Picturesque philosophy was ultimately expressed through painting.

The Picturesque Many of Australia's Colonial period artists, foremost among them Conrad Martens, were practitioners of the Picturesque ideal of landscape painting, based upon theories expounded as a partial rejection of the Neo-Classical school, the latter being the dominant art movement of the late eighteenth century. Neoclassicism called for artists to be trained in copying the works of the Old Masters and subsequently develop a career based upon that style. The Picturesque was a rejection of this antiquarian formalism; it was a movement, an aesthetic philosophy, whereby the artist's goal "...was nothing less than the true appearance of things ... it was the manner of imitating nature appropriate to painting. It reflected the empirical approach to landscape, the works of nature were to be seen as they were, not as they could be reconstructed to emulate a classical idea." (Proudfoot, p42) Another author suggested that the Picturesque was "...based on roughness, sudden variation and irregularity" in the landscape (Bonyhady, 1985, p63). Yet in the same era the Romantic school, in which Martens had received his training under Anthony Van Dyke Copley Fielding, was just as influential, espousing the philosophy that: Nature was to be rendered by the artist not with her imperfections clinging to her but in her perfect form. (Smith, 1985, p1) As an artist Martens employed elements of both the Romantic and the Picturesque to create his distinctive watercolour style. It was grounded in Picturesque technique, but strived for the beautiful and romantic. Alongside an ever increasing interest in Picturesque landscapes on the part of artists during the late eighteenth century, there developed the pastime of Picturesque tourism - i.e. travel specifically for the purposes of enjoying the scenery. As Malcolm Andrews (1987) has noted, "...the beginnings of Picturesque tourism in Britain coincided with the rise of the British school of landscape painting...", of which Conrad Martens was a student.

In a search for picturesque landscapes as a possible answer to the developing conflict of science versus art, and as part of the general imperialistic fervour of the day, many artists during the late

eighteenth and early nineteenth century began travelling the globe. This often led to their attachment to one or other of the scientific expeditions sent out by the colonial powers of the day. As a result, during

the period in which Martens was training under Copley Fielding: Picturesque travel became the vogue. Classical buildings became more acceptable if they were ruins rather than complete buildings. Craggy mountains and plunging waterfalls, the rocky coastline and the waves of the rolling sea were assimilated into the Picturesque. Rocky foreshores combined with primeval trees, such as those found at Sydney Harbour, were irresistible (Proudfoot, p42) Martens himself became a Picturesque tourist, travelling to South America, Pacific Islands and New Zealand before reaching Australia. As the Arts reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald of 26 July 1847 noted when discussing those samples of Martens' work included in the first exhibition run by the Society for the Promotion of Fine Arts in Australia: No one knows better [then Conrad Martens] how to select a scene for a picturesque drawing.

Throughout his time in Australia he continued to seek out Picturesque localities. Illawarra was one of the first such areas to attract him (after a brief visit to the Blue Mountains), containing as it does many of the aforementioned Picturesque elements - rocky foreshores, craggy mountains, and primeval forests. Martens, who has been cited by Bernard Smith as the creator of "the finest work done in Australia in the English romantic landscape tradition" (Smith, 1985, p60), and any other such Picturesque Traveller, would have been immediately attracted to Illawarra upon being informed of its natural beauty. In the search for the Picturesque in Australia, Illawarra would become a compulsory stopover on any artist's itinerary. As late as 1850 Martens again reiterated his preference for Picturesque landscapes when he noted in a letter to a Victorian friend, James Mitchell: Port Phillip is not sufficiently picturesque to draw me in that direction. It is unfortunate that Martens did not journey to Victoria, for though the Port Phillip area may have seemed bland to him, he would have found numerous Picturesque views to the north in the Victorian Alps, as did Eugene von Guerard and Nicholas Chevalier during the 1850s and sixties. He in known to have executed two views of "Toorac house, Melbourne" and "Jolimont, Melbourne" for General Macarthur in 1860, and an undated pencil sketch of Port Philip heads, however these are his only Victorian works and there is no further evidence on his journey to Melbourne. Martens was not adverse to travelling, even in his later years. In 1851-2 he undertook an extensive tour of southern Queensland and the New England area in search of both commissions and Picturesque scenery. Following this lengthy seven month excursion he did not venture far from the Sydney area again apart from a brief visit to Coolangatta, near Nowra on New South Wales' south coast in 1860, and, in 1872 he crossed the Blue Mountains (possibly by rail) to the recently constructed Zig Zag line at Lithgow. Just as he had left his homeland in 1833 in search of the Picturesque, so also in his final years he was forced to heed the call to this most Picturesque site on the western edge of the Blue Mountains. Artist, traveller, scientist, settler - just who was Conrad Martens, and why did he settle in New South Wales? Biographical Sketch Conrad Martens (1801-78) was in many ways typical of those Colonial-period artists working in Australia. He was an Englishman of German descent, having been born at Crutched Friars, near the Tower of London, sometime early in 1801, and christened at the church of Saint Olave, Hart Street, on 7 May of that year. His father, John Henry Christopher Martens, was a merchant and German diplomat to Britain, based in London. There were also many Martens' amongst the German art fraternity. As far as we know the Martens household was financially secure, with the immediate family consisting of Conrad, his two brothers Henry and John William, his sister Mary Anne, and his mother Rebecca and father John (refer Appendix 2). In 1816 John Martens passed away and shortly thereafter Conrad moved with his mother to Exeter, in the Devonshire region. Not much is known of the next ten years of Conrad's life between 1817-26, however it was during this period that he began his studies in art under the watercolourist Anthony

Vandyke Copley Fielding, following in the footsteps of his two brothers who were also artists. Henry became especially well-known in England for his paintings of Napoleonic battle scenes, eventually gaining the nick-name Battle Martens. A later letter from Conrad to his brother Henry suggests that John William was not so successful as an artist. Between 1817-26 Conrad continued his general education and studies in art, all the while assisting his widowed mother. His earliest surviving sketchbooks are of the Devonshire region in 1827, and from this point on he appears to have begun to pursue his art in earnest. Whether he decided to pursue this career as an artist early in life or turned to it from some other profession (?possible a merchant like his father) is unknown, as upon arrival in New South Wales in 1835 Martens was cited as a professional artist. Many sketchbooks and watercolours by him of the Devonshire area survive for the period 1827-33. They are mostly small, tentative views of picturesque landscapes, castle ruins, buildings, and coastal scenes. Watercolour studies are common, though none display the skilful use of that medium as evidenced in his New South Wales views from 1835 onwards. Around May of 1833 Martens decided to become a Picturesque tourist, like his idol J.M.W. Turner before him, and left England for South America in search of Picturesque scenery and material for his sketchbook, thereby hoping to further his career as a professional artist. He never returned to his homeland. Martens' motives for leaving England are unclear. Perhaps he wanted to join his brother Henry, who is known to have worked in South America and India. Judging by later letters, Conrad seems to have been closest to Henry, and may have headed off to South America in search of him in 1832-3. For whatever reason, by 29 May 1833 Conrad Martens was sketching at the island of Porto Santo, Madeira, off the coast of Spain while en route to South America aboard the HMS Hyacinth, under Captain Blackwood. During the following three months he visited Funchal, the Canary Islands, Teneriffe, and the Cape Verde Islands (all in June); Rio Janeiro (July); and Monte Video (August). Early in August he travelled to Monte Video to attempt to join the Beagle expedition there as its official artist. He was successful in convincing Captain Robert Fitzroy to take him on, and from August to December 1833 he resided at Monte Video, the capital of Banda Oriental (Uruguay) on the south eastern coast South America. Augustus Earle had been the expedition's artist prior to the signing on of Martens, but he was forced to leave due to continued ill health early in 1833. Martens was with the Beagle for nearly a year (December 1833 - November 1834) working under Fitzroy and alongside the soon to be famous naturalist Charles Darwin. This was to be an important period for Martens as the close contact with such brilliant scientists as Darwin and Fitzroy was to profoundly affect the manner in which he was to view nature and express that vision within his art. During the artist's period aboard the Beagle the vessel was involved in a survey of the southern most coast of South America. This took him to places such as Port Desire (December 1833); the Straits of Magellan (January 1834); Port Famine, Mount Sarmiento, Cape Horn, and the Beagle Channel (all during February 1834); the Falkland Islands (March); up the Santa Cruz River (April - May); the Cape Virgin Islands (May); Chiloe (June); and Valpariso at the end of June, 1834. From June to November 1834 the Beagle was stationed at Valpariso, during which period Martens and the scientists made numerous excursions into the local countryside. When time came for the expedition to move on in November 1834 Martens was signed-off by Captain Fitzroy, mainly due to lack of funds and shortage of storage space upon the Beagle in which to house him. The reasons are more fully outlined in the letter from Captain Fitzroy to Captain P.P. King reproduced below.

After leaving the Beagle in November 1834 Martens decided on travelling to New South Wales, possibly with the intention of settling there. He left Valpariso on 3 December 1834 aboard the Peruvian bound for Tahiti, where he arrived on 22 January 1835. The route he took to New South Wales would basically follow that taken by the Beagle nine months later, and in many ways he was still acting as their unofficial artist. Martens spent approximately seven weeks at Tahiti sketching and painting, before boarding the Black Warrior bound for Australia via New Zealand. He left Tahiti on 4 March 1835 and arrived at the Bay of Islands a month later, on 4 April. After spending six days at the Bay of Islands the Black Warrior weighed anchor on 9 April and set off on the final leg for New South Wales. She eventually arrived at Port Jackson on 17 April 1835, with Martens recording her passage through the Heads in a pencil sketch. Upon this work he also noted the prevailing weather conditions, revealing the influence of Captain Fitzroy who was an expert in the developing science of meteorology. Throughout his time in Australia Conrad Martens would continue to experiment with sky and atmospheric features such as clouds, sunrise, moonlight, and storms; incorporating these aspects within his paintings with the skill of an experienced meteorologist and viewer of nature. Arrival in Australia Upon his arrival in Sydney Martens possessed a valuable letter of introduction from Captain FitzRoy to Captain Phillip Parker King R.N., noted explorer and son of the third Governor of New South Wales. Captain King had been in command of the first Beagle expedition employed in a survey of the South American coast between 1826-30. Captain Fitzroy's orders were to carry on the work of King's party and to complete the survey of the southern portion of the continent. Captain King's son was also a mid-shipman aboard the Beagle with Martens, making King all that more interested in its work and any tales a member of the crew such as Martens may wish to relate with regards to the fate of the Beagle. The surviving remnant of Fitzroy's letter to King, from the King Papers in the Mitchell Library (FM4/66, pp55-57) reads as follows: H.M.S. Beagle Valparaiso 5th Nov. 1834 Dear Captain King The bearer of this letter, Mr Conrad Martens, has parted from me, I am sorry to say, because there is no longer room for him on board the Beagle, nor money for him in my pocket. Had I more money, and more storage rooms, I should not think of ending my engagement with him. He has been nearly a year with us, and is much liked by my shipmates and myself. He is a quiet, industrious, good fellow, and I wish him well. He thinks of visiting and perhaps settling at Sydney, therefore I write this letter by way of an introduction to you. Enclosed is a letter I received about him from Captain Blackwood of the Hyacinth. You will be able to judge of his abilities, by a glance at his works, far better than any words of mine. He has a host of views of Terra Del. [Feugo] in his sketch book. His profession is his maintenance.......... [Robert Fitzroy] Captain P.P. King R.N.

Such a glowing letter of praise would have opened many doors for Martens upon his arrival in Australia, and his skill as an artist would have quickly reinforced these opinions. Sydney in 1835 was the administrative, commercial and cultural centre of the Colony. The Governor, Richard Bourke, and a number of influential settlers such as Captain King, Alexander McLeay, the Macarthur family and Sir James Jamieson were striving to change its image from that of penal settlement to a commercial arm of the Empire and a land of opportunity for free settlers and emancipists. By 1835 a number of literary and scientific societies had been formed and interest in the arts were on the rise. The economy was prospering and the Colony was in the mood to support a professional landscape painter. Upon arrival Martens immediately set up a studio in Pitt Street, in a building owned by explorer-surveyor and fellow artist George Evans. He later moved to Cumberland Street, the Rocks, in an area then known as Bunkers Hill and located on the western side of Sydney Cove. His house and studio there had a spectacular, uninterrupted view overlooking the Cove and the rest of Port Jackson as far as the Heads to the east. Some of his oil and watercolour views of Sydney Cove of the period are simply titled "View from my window". Martens was 34 when he landed in Sydney. He was physically and mentally at a peak, and "full up to the neck with enthusiasm" (Charles Darwin, 1833) to sketch and paint the landscape, flora, and fauna of this strange new land. His boundless energy and dedication to his art is revealed by the following list of places he visited during that first year in the Colony. The list has been compiled from information gleaned from his signed dated pencil sketches and various manuscript records. The list gives a mere indication of Martens' hectic itinerary during 1835, suggesting that apart from engaging in far-flung sketching trips around Sydney, he was also producing numerous works in oil and watercolour for sale to new found clients and in fulfilment of his many commissions. In the absence of any detailed diary or body of correspondence by the artist, this information also takes on an added biographical dimension. Table 1 Conrad Martens' 1835 Itinerary Date Locality/Title of Sketch or Work Sold 17 April Entrance to Port Jackson 25 Major Mitchell's Bridge [Emu Plains] 14 May Dunhevid [St Mary's, home of P.P. King] 15 Emu Ferry, Great Western Road 16 Dunhevid 21 Nepean River 25 Blackheath and the Bathurst Road 3 June South Creek, Shanes Park [Rooty Hill] 14 Sydney from South Head Road 20 Bondi Bay 24 View, Bota Fogo, Rio Janiero £2 Town of Funchal 27 La Perouse Monument, Botany Bay 28 Sydney Harbour and HMS Hyacinth 3 July Bants Basin, Nepean River 4 Nymphs Groto 5 Belgenary, Camden 6 Broughtons Pass [Appin]

7-16 Illawarra 20 Lessons, J. Brown Esq. £5 25 View of Sydney Harbour, £10.10 6 August Govets Leap £10.10 Fall at Weatherboard £10.10 16 North Shore 23 Boat Harbour £6.6 Illawarra Lake £6.6 30 Double Bay 3 September Soldiers Point, Darling Harbour 5 Lessons, R. Russell Esq. £5. Harbour, Port Jackson £10.10 8 Macquarie Fort [Sydney Cove] 8 Brisbane Water [Broken Bay, near Gosford] 9-12 Wyoming, Brisbane Water 12 Pittwater 15 Sydney Cove 16 Macquarie Fort 25 The Domain, Sydney 27 North Head, Sydney Harbour 29 Mitchells Bridge £10.10 6 October Patersons River 10 Small Drawing £2.2 15 Nortons Basin, Nepean River 17 Regentville [Emu Plains] 19 Mulgoa Valley 20 Regentville 31 Small Drawing £2.2 4 November View of Edinglassie £6.6 7 View at Moorea £3.3 19 Grantham, Potts Point 27 Illawarra Lake £10.10 ? December Bridge Street, Sydney ? Elizabeth Bay 2 Harbour, Port Jackson £10.10 6 Jacobs Ladder, South Head 6 Old Sydney Lighthouse, South head 8 Mulgoa Valley £6.6 12 Craigend, Sydney Harbour 16 Emu Plains from Regentville £6.6 17 Hyde Park 26 Penrith Road As can be seen from this list, shortly after his arrival in Sydney Martens set off on various sketching tour. By 25 May 1835 he was working as far afield as Blackheath in the Blue Mountains, and the end of June saw him in the Botany Bay area. Early in July, less than 3 months after his arrival in New South Wales, he travelled to Illawarra, a region which, though only 50 miles south of Sydney, was nonetheless at that time very difficult to reach. To make such a trip Martens obviously had good reason, foremost being his desire to visit the most picturesque localities then known in New South Wales - namely Sydney Harbour, the Blue Mountains, and Illawarra - as soon as possible. As a `New Chum' it was also important for Martens to familiarise himself with the local environment, both for his own interests (i.e. to decide whether he would settle in the Colony), and to satisfy his

Australian patrons. Many of these patrons would have called for an accurate, recognisably Australian representation of any view commissioned - such as a panorama of their country property and homestead; or a view of some distinctive Australian scene, giving it the appearance of a gracious English mansion or a parkland estate, as Joseph Lycett had done in the 1820s. Martens' tastes demanded something less pedestrian, more realistic and decidedly Picturesque. As his livelihood depended totally upon sales of his art works, he was therefore forced to compromise, adopting a pragmatic approach in the execution of commissioned works. However due to his skill as an artist, in most cases he was able to satisfy both himself and his patrons in the views he produced. As Rex Reinits points out: In his work, the middle and distant features of a view were always topographically accurate. Understandably so, for a great many of his paintings were for patrons who wished to take or send pictures back to England, to show what the colonial landscape looked like. To such people the main virtue of a picture was its accurate representation of significant landmarks. In the foreground, however, Martens indulged himself in some artistic license, using native trees and shrubs, boulders and rocky shelves typical of the locality. These were carefully observed and accurate in themselves so that, although obviously "arranged" by the artist, they still conveyed interesting information about the natural landscape (1970, p664). As noted previously, Martens' experiences in South America and aboard the Beagle had changed both the way he thought and the way he painted. As an artist he was therefore somewhat in two minds by the time he arrived in New South Wales - on one hand he had been trained in the ways of the Picturesque and Romantic schools and in the manner of Turner to strive for "breadth, grandeur and a total absence of all petty detail" within his painting; yet aboard the Beagle he became experienced in the methods of scientists such as Charles Darwin and Captain Robert Fitzroy who strove "...to observe carefully, record accurately, and to experiment". Quite soon after his arrival in New South Wales Martens skills as a landscape painter became widely known throughout the then small Sydney art community, and amongst prominent (i.e. wealthy) free settlers and ex-convicts. With this notoriety came numerous commissions, mostly from the wealthier sections of colonial society. These commissions are invariable recorded in his manuscript Account of Pictures painted at N.S.Wales, 1835-78. Shortly after his arrival, and following his visit to Illawarra, The Australian of 4 August 1835 reported Martens' activities as follows, with a certain degree of familiarity as though he had been a long time settler: Mr. Marthens has finished a splendid picture of Port Jackson, from the South Head road; it has been purchased by Mr. Manning; several other most picturesque views from the Illawarra district, and from the Mountain Road, are "on the stocks" The term "on the stocks" supposedly refers to the wooden stand Martens used to hold his paintings while working on them - the correspondent obviously saw humour in comparing this device with the triangular wooden stocks upon which convicts were then tied while being flogged, a very common practice in Sydney during this period. Also note that according to the report Martens was working on a number of paintings simultaneously. The paintings referred to in this news item are noted in Martens own Account of Pictures (refer Appendix 1). Despite his obvious popularity upon arrival in Sydney, Martens did not languish long within the city - he almost immediately set off on numerous sketching tours in search of Picturesque landscapes, one of the earliest being his visit to Illawarra in July 1835.

Journey to Illawarra As a region Illawarra is almost isolated from Sydney by land and sea. It forms a long, thin strip of land bound on the west by a steep (450 metre high) escarpment, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, and further shielded to the north by the densely forested, slightly mountainous terrain south of Sutherland. Due to this isolation and difficulty of access widespread settlement did not occur in the area until the late 1820s, even though the land was extremely rich and fertile. As Lionel Lindsay had noted in his 1920 book on Martens: As early as 1835 he was in Illawarra, drawing with a meticulous touch all that sub-tropical forest growth of tangled lianas, great fronded ferns and graceful cabbage palms which attracted the romantic Englishman in him, and which, on paper, wears so much the appearance of a transformation scene. According to signed and dated pencil sketches in the Mitchell and Dixson Library collections, Conrad Martens was in Illawarra between 7-16 July 1835. His precise reasons for visiting Illawarra so soon after his arrival in New South Wales have been hinted at but are largely unknown - perhaps he was sent there on commission a commission from Governor Bourke; perhaps his artistic curiosity led him there after being informed of its natural picturesque beauty - a virtue further extolled by the Governor, who considered Illawarra one of the richest parts of the Colony and, folklore has it, referred to it as the Garden of New South Wales after a visit there in 1834. Perhaps Martens was anxious to visit as much of this new country as possible and Illawarra was just another stop on his itinerary. Martens was the Colony's first professional landscape painter, and, having arrived with that glowing letter of introduction to Captain King, he would undoubtedly have been introduced to the higher levels of colonial society - his future patrons - relatively quickly. Martens' account book suggests that one of his reasons for travelling to Illawarra was that he held a commission from the Governor, for Bourke purchased two views of the area on 23 August 1835, just over a month after the visit. It would have been no easy task for Conrad to travel to Illawarra in July of 1835. It was then the middle of winter and access was only via coastal ketch or on horse along a rough, tiring, bush track which the travelled a long, circuitous route from Sydney south-west to Liverpool, then south and south-east to Campbelltown and Appin, before descending the escarpment via the steep mountain pass at Bulli or the Mount Keira road (Major Mitchell's new line and O'Brien's old track). As Martens' earliest known pencil sketch of Illawarra is View of Five Islands and Hat Hill, Illawarra, 7th July/35, drawn from a point just to the south of Keira, possibly on Mitchell's road, it seems likely that he entered Illawarra by this route, instead of down the more picturesque (though difficult) Bulli road, as Earle had done in 1827. Surviving pencil sketches for this period suggest that Martens left Sydney around 1 July and travelled to Illawarra via the Nepean River (3 July), Camden (5 July), and Broughtons Pass, near Appin (6 July). He arrived in Illawarra on the 7th and stayed on until at least the 16th. By the 20th he was back in Sydney giving art lessons to a Mr J. Brown. The visit to Illawarra may have been brief (10 days), but during his stay Martens was very busy, producing over thirty known pencil sketches, possibly some watercolours from nature, and locating many picturesque localities with the skill of a well heeled traveller. As the pencil sketches form the main record of his visit to the area, it is to them that we shall look first.

Illawarra Pencil Sketches A vital record of Martens visit to Illawarra are his many pencil sketches executed at the time. Those known are of the coastline near Wollongong; the dense forests to the south around the Dapto/Albion Park area and bordering Lake Illawarra and Tom Thumb's Lagoon; an area around Para Creek, just north of Wollongong; the mountain road descending into Illawarra; and the sublime view from the top of the Illawarra escarpment behind Mount Keira, looking east over the coastal strip towards the sea. Martens' subsequent watercolours of this latter scene are amongst his finest works. He also executed a number of botanical studies of Illawarra's native flora during the visit and a lone sketch, unsigned and undated, of an Aboriginal is included in one of his early (1835) sketchbooks alongside other Illawarra works, therefore most likely from the same excursion. When Skinner Prout visited Illawarra in 1841 and 1844 he also worked in similar areas to the south and west of Wollongong and around Lake Illawarra (see Skinner Prout in Australia 1840-48, 1986). An interesting comparison of the differing styles of these two famous colonial period artists may be made by studying their Illawarra works. In a number of cases their views of Illawarra are taken from identical localities, as were many of their Sydney Harbour works. The following list of Martens' Illawarra pencil sketches reveals those executed during his July 1835 visit, plus some taken later or undated. In most instances titles and dates are given as recorded by the artist upon the sketches during the visit: Conrad Martens - Illawarra Pencil Sketches Title Date 1 View of Five Islands and Hat Hill, Illawarra 7th 2 At Illawarra 8th 3 Boat Harbour, Wollongong 4 Beach Scene at Illawarra 5 At Illawarra 6 View at Illawarra - Tom Thumbs Lagoon 7 Wollongong Point, looking North 8 Hat Hill from Wollongong Point 9 Tom Thumbs Lagoon 9th 10 Lake at Illawarra 11 Lake at Illawarra 12 The Arum at Illawarra 10th 13 Palms, Ferns, etc, Illawarra 14 Nettle Tree and Cabbage Palms, etc 11th 15 Fig Tree at Illawarra 16 Lake Scene, Illawarra 12th 17 Dapto, Illawarra 18 Cabbage tree and Stedmania, Illawarra 19 Para (Bara) Creek 13th 20 Terrys Johnsons Meadows 21 The Brush at Illawarra - Mullet Creek 14th 22 Terrys Meadows 23 Johnsons Meadows 24 Nettle Tree

25 Fern Tree, Illawarra 16th 26 View of Lake Illawarra undated 27 Lake at Illawarra 28 Bangala or Seaforthia 29 Crimsen or Lily, Illawarra 30 Flower study 31 Figtree and Seaforthia Palms, Illawarra 32 Cabbage tree 33 Aborigine Many of sketches are to be found amongst Martens' personal sketchbooks and albums in the Mitchell and Dixson collections. Those most relevant to this survey of his Illawarra works include: Pencil Sketches 1835-38 ML PX*D307-1 Sketches in Australia ML PXC295 Album of scenes in Sydney ML PXC296 Sketchbook of Views and Botanical Studies in the Illawarra District, 1835 ML PXC389 Pencil sketches in New South Wales DL PX24 Collection of Landscapes DG*D19 Martens sold some of his albums of pencil sketches during his lifetime, especially during the lean period of the 1840s, though as a rule he held on to them dearly for he constantly referred to them in later years when requests were made for views of a certain locality. A large number of these albums survive and form a rich, largely untapped source for students of both Australian history and of Martens himself. Almost invariably any of his major works in watercolour or oil are based upon a preliminary pencil sketch to be found in one of his albums. Some of his original pencil sketches are also located within albums belonging to his contemporaries, or his students. Martens relied heavily upon his pencil sketches, with those from Illawarra forming the basis for later, fuller expositions of that region in oil, watercolour, wash and lithograph between 1835-77. Whether he worked up any of these pencil sketches while in Illawarra is unknown, though it is obvious they were later studied and developed in his Sydney studios. Some rough sepia washes of Illawarra scenes in the Dixson Library collection may have been executed during his visit, though this is open to conjecture. It is often difficult to verify the location of many of these roughly hewn washes as they only served as initial drafts for later, more fully developed, watercolours. Martens used them in his experiments with colours and tones, therefore detail was not a number one priority. The above list of Illawarra pencil sketches is not completely comprehensive in recording all Martens' work during the visit to Illawarra. Judging by other Illawarra works in oil and watercolour located in various Australian collections, and assuming all of these were based upon pencil sketches executed during his 1835 visit, it seems likely that a number of drawings from that visit are yet to be located and listed. e.g. his view of the township of Wollongong which formed the basis for an 1837 watercolour. The majority of the pencil sketches were annotated by Martens in the field and are often a rich source of information, often recording date of execution, precise locality, natural colours, tones, flora and fauna, and relevant environmental factors for later use by the artist. Martens was a skilled, prolific pencil sketcher, and it has been noted by a contemporary that when sketching, his pencil never left the paper, such was his speed at absorbing and accurately recording the scene before him. Though he believed that a "...sketch should be slight as it is for the purpose only of giving a general idea of the subject to be painted" (Lindsay, 1968, p29). with the passing of time these sketches have taken on an added historical significance, recording as they do landscapes long since transformed by man and nature, often to such a degree as to be unrecognizable when compared with the present day view. They are the photographs of the past,

especially so with Martens' pencil sketches as they record the scene in all its natural beauty. Judging by the accuracy, detail, and correct perspective of his pencil sketches, Martens must have possessed either uncannily good eyesight and/or used an instrument such as a telescope to accurately record distant landscape features. Containing so much informational value, and for the moment disregarding their obvious artistic merit, they form a valuable historical record of Martens' visit, and of Illawarra, in July 1835. Unfortunately in comparing Martens views with the modern day scene we are greatly hampered by atmospheric pollution, denuded vegetation, and everywhere evidence of man's built environment. During Martens time in Illawarra the air was crisp and clear, with even the smoke of a far distant native campfire easily seen, and the brush largely unspoiled. Just as Illawarra has changed much since the time of his visit, so also his numerous Sydney Harbour views executed during the period 1835-78 forcefully remind us how that once picturesque locality has lost much of its beauty since the time of Conrad Martens. The detail and accuracy of his pencil sketches is often to be wondered at for Martens believed in the "rapidity" of sketching and as a result has left hundreds of sketches as his legacy. Despite his own opinion that pencil sketches were "slight", those he drew in Illawarra (and the majority of his other Australian pencil sketches) are anything but. They are invariably very fine, accurate, and full of detail, revealing as they do evidence of Martens' leanings towards science and the true representation of nature. His Illawarra botanical studies and lifelong interest in astronomy reinforce this aspect of his personality, obviously developed during his time aboard the Beagle and a feature which was strongly reflected in his Australian sketches and paintings. Martens was more than just a painter - he also enjoyed woodcarving, and is known to have drawn and carved in wood the second version of the front page heading for The Illustrated Sydney News of 1854-55, along with a view of the entrance to Abercrombie Caves, near Bathurst, for the December edition of 1854. He also designed and sculptured a font for Saint Thomas's church at St Leonards, and was involved in the design and erection of the church itself, being an active church warden. Many of his paintings have been noted for their skilful execution and accurate representation of geographical and geological features, especially those executed while on board the Beagle. Likewise many of the works of Eugene von Guerard were similarly noted and, prior to the appearance of the Australian school of Impressionists, appreciated all the more for their inclusion of such detail. However Martens was too steeped in the traditions of the Romantic school to ever allow science to overwhelm his art, and his work therefore never took on the photograph-like qualities of many of von Guerard's paintings. The romantic, picturesque qualities of Martens works were always evident. It is not known if, or when, Conrad Martens returned to Illawarra after that 1835 visit. Though a number of his Illawarra works in watercolour and oil are dated (i.e. were completed) after 1835, it is likely that the many pencil sketches he drew during that first visit were all he needed - alongside his memories of the visit - to create those later works in oil, watercolour, pencil and lithograph. His last Illawarra watercolour is dated 1877, just one year before his death, and would have been based upon one of his 1835 sketches. Some watercolours attributed to Martens of Lake Illawarra, and dated 1850, are located in the Mitchell collection, however their attribution is open to question and judging by their style they may have been produced by his daughter Rebecca. No specifically dated, post-July 1835, pencil sketches of central Illawarra by him are known to this author. Rebecca also produced a number of pencil sketches of Illawarra flora in 1851 - she was then aged 13 - though whether she actually visited Illawarra or merely copied from her father's 1835 sketchbooks is unknown. The latter seems most likely as there also

exists sketches by Rebecca of localities visited by her father during his time with the Beagle. The following is a list of her Illawarra sketches, contained in a sketchbook presently housed in the Dixson Library (DL PX33): Illawarra Pencil Sketches - Rebecca Martens 1851 Title Illawarra Lilly and Seaforthia Illawarra, a view in a forest Nettle Tree and Cabbage Palms Nettle Tree Fern Tree, Illawarra Figtree Cabbage Palms View of tree ferns in a forest, 20 Feb View of tree ferns in a forest, 20 Feb View of tree ferns in a forest, 26 Feb There is also a pencil sketch by Martens in the Dixson Library titled Wollongong from on board the Steamer (DL PX17 f.18) and dated 11 April 1860, however this was executed while on transit to Coolangatta, the property near Nowra of Martens' good friend Alexander Berry, and rightly belongs with that series. The majority of his Illawarra works can therefore be seen as arising out of his 1835 visit. Illawarra Art Works (1835-78) The following list (Table 4) is a survey of other Illawarra works by Martens known to the author. While a large number of those mentioned are in the Mitchell and Dixson collections, many others are to be found in public and private collections throughout Australia. It is likely that of those Illawarra works not yet located or identified, many are to be found in overseas collections as it was common during the early years of the Colony for purchasers of Australian art works to send them home to their relatives in Britain. A fuller description of each work is given in Appendix 4: Catalogue of Illawarra Works. Within the following list the works are arranged according to medium, namely Oil; Watercolour and Wash; and Lithograph; followed by the works associated with his excursion to Coolangatta in 1860: Table 4 Illawarra Art Works by Conrad Martens Title/Subject Reference/Location Oil Lake Illawarra 1843 Private Collection Illawarra Lake 1844 Private Collection Illawarra, 1848 Dixson Gallery DG165 Lake Landscape, Illawarra 1848 Private Collection Watercolour & Wash Mount Keira 1835 Wollongong City Gallery Lake Illawarra 1835 Dixson Library DL31 Para Creek, 1835 Private Collection

The Five Islands 1836 Private (Lindsay, plate VII & 10) Mount Kembla and Mount Keira from the South Coast Road c.1837 Dixson Gallery DGD11 f.9 Illawarra District 1837 Christies, 1969 Boat Harbour, Wollongong 1842 Private Collection Lake Illawarra, 1844 Christies, 1972 $4000 View of Dapto 1845 Private Collection View of Illawarra from Dapto 1845 Government House, Parramatta Mullett Creek, Dapto 1853 Wollongong City Gallery The Five Islands [View from Mount Keira] 1861 Dixson Gallery V*/SpColl/Martens/1 View of Dapto National Library of Australia Illawarra Cove Art Gallery of NSW #115 Illawarra Art Gallery of NSW #4378 Illawarra Art Gallery of NSW #4391 The Illawarra Road Christies, March 1977 $1100 Near Wollongong Christies, 1985 $6000 Camp Site at Night Christies, April 1987 $13,200 The Five Islands, NSW Coast Geoff Gray, November 1973 $300 The Illawarra Road Geoff Gray, March 1978 $825 Lake Illawarra Dixson Gallery DGD7 f.3 Beach Scene Dixson Gallery DGD8 f.6 Landscape Dixson Gallery DGD8 f.7 Landscape Dixson Gallery DGD9 f.8 Coastal Scene Dixson Gallery DGD10 f.1 Country Scene Dixson Gallery DG*D19 f.2 Country Scene Dixson Gallery DG*D19 f.3 Wollongong Harbour Dixson Gallery DG*D19 f.4 Mountain Scene Dixson Gallery DG*D19 f.10 Mountain Scene Dixson Gallery DG*D19 f.11 Para Creek Dixson Gallery DG*D19 f.14 Coastal Scene Dixson Library DLPX27 f.19 Coastal or Lake Scene Dixson Library DLPX27 f.37 Lake at Illawarra Dixson Library DLPX28 f.23 Illawarra Cove Dixson Library DLPXX11 f.6 Mountain Scene Dixson Library DLPXX12 f.15 Station Mitchell Library V*SpColl/Martens/44 Lake at Illawarra Mitchell Library PXB6 f.89 Sydney Harbour Mitchell Library C292-2 f.11 Illawarra Lake Mitchell Library C292-2 f.15 Lake at Illawarra Mitchell Library PXC296 f.15 Landscape showing a lake and mountains Mitchell Library PX*D307-8 f.3 Bushland Scene Mitchell Library PX*D307-8 f.4 Illawarra District Mitchell Library V*SpColl/Martens/3a Lithograph Bush Scene, Illawarra January 1850 (Nettle tree and Cabbage Palms) Mitchell V*SpColl/Martens/17 Etching Nettle tree and Cabbage Palms Dixson Library

Coolangatta Group 1860 Oil Coolangatta Mountain 1860 Private Collection Watercolour Tower near Coolangatta 1860 Private Collection Pencil Shoalhaven from Saddleback Private Collection Wollongong from on board the Steamer, 11 April 1860 Dixson Library DLPX17 f.18 Kiama from the Steamer, 11 April 1860 Dixson Library DLPX17 f.20 At Kiama, 11 April 1860 Dixson Library DLPX17 f.19 Coolangatta from the sea, April 11 1860 Dixson Library DLPX17 f.21 Coolangatta, Sat. April 14, 1860 Private Collection Coolangatta, 16 April 1860 Monday Dixson Library DLPXX12 f.1 From Coolangatta, Shoalhaven River Private Collection As can be gathered from the foregoing listings, Conrad Martens' visits to Illawarra in 1835 and Coolangatta in 1860 were rich in inspiration for the artist - for Illawarra those initial, known, pencil sketches were to give rise to over 50 later works in oil and watercolour during the next thirty years. It also proved to be financially productive - how productive is revealed by Martens' own record, Account of Pictures painted at Sydney, N.S.Wales, [1835-78] (Dixson Library, MS142-3) herein after referred to as Account of Pictures. Account of Pictures This journal was supposedly begun by Martens shortly after his arrival in Sydney (or produced later in life using earlier records), with the first entry dated 24 June 1835, and maintained throughout his career. It is primarily a financial ledger recording details of income received from the sale of art works and the giving of art lessons. Information contained therein regarding sales of works includes: * date of sale * title of painting * purchaser * amount paid * subsequent destination * assorted notes It is an extremely valuable, almost unique work, in that it reveals the day to day finances of a professional artist, trying to make a living and support a young family in New South Wales during the nineteenth century. It shows us that Martens faced many lean periods, especially during the depression of the mid- to late-1840s. More importantly, it lists almost all of Martens major works. Between 1835-77 Martens records the sale of 33 works based on Illawarra scenes, to the value of over £300. These works are listed below (Table 5), with notes as per Account of Pictures. ("E" means "Sent to England"):

Table 5 "Account of Pictures" - Illawarra Extracts Date Title Purchaser Price 23 Aug 35 Boat Harbour His Excellency 6.6 E Genl. Bourke 23 Aug 35 Illawarra Lake Governor NSW 6.6 E 27 Nov 35 Illawarra Lake W. McArthur 10.10 E This was exchanged for Mr Manning's View of Five Islands 3 Mar 36 Tree Fern W. McArthur 2.2 5 Mar 36 Five Islands, Illawarra J. Manning 10.10 Exchanged for Mr Macarthurs View of the Lake 10 Dec 36 Dapto, Illawarra Rev. F. Wilkinson 6.6 E 22 Dec 36 Bush Scenery, Illawarra G. McLeay 6.6 27 Jun 37 Tom Thumbs Lagoon L. Campbell 6.6 16 Oct 37 Bara Creek, Illawarra G. Mcleay 2.2 18 Nov 37 Illawarra Mountain S. Elyard 12.12 5 Mar 38 Bara Creek S. Elyard 2.2 4 May 38 Boat Harbour, Wollongong S. Elyard 2.2 26 May 38 Brush at Illawarra Oil G. Mcleay 2.10 30 Jul 39 View Dapto, Illawarra Lady Franklin 15.15 18 Mar 42 Brush at Illawarra J. Mason 8.8 25 Mar 44 Illawarra Lake T. Brown 12.12 31 Oct 44 Illawarra Lake W. Fanning 12.12 22 Aug 53 Mullett Creek, Illawarra Lord Schomberg Kerr 5.5 30 Aug 53 Mullett Creek Rev.Hy.Stobert 5.5 28 Sept 53 Brush, Mullet Creek Rev.H.Bowles 5.5 2 Oct 53 Mullet Creek Rev.H.Bowles 5.5 19 Nov 53 Mullet Creek, Illawarra O. Browne 15.15 1 Mar 54 Brush, Mullet Creek John Reeve 6.6 27 Mar 54 View at Dapto John Reeve 10.10

5 Apr 54 Brush, Illawarra P.Leslie 5.5 13 Jan 55 Mullet Creek, Illawarra Louis Barker 15.15 9 Jan 56 View at Dapto, Illawarra F.Beauchamp 8.8 19 Mar 59 Dapto, Illawarra Sir Daniel Cooper 21 Apr 59 View, Terry's Meadows, Illawarra W.Brown 21 19 Dec 59 View at Dapto Fitzharding Esq. 21 1 Nov 61 View of the Five Islands Baldwin 20 Smaller ditto Baldwin 3 18 Mar 76 Illawarra Lake Mr Fairfax 17.17 26 Feb 77 View at Dapto (sunny effect) Mr Watson 10.10 [N.B. "Bara Creek" (16 October, 1837) is a corruption, by Martens, of "Para Creek", located on the northern edge of Wollongong. Lionel Lindsay mistakenly read "Bara" as "Barco" when compiling his 1920 book on Martens, and for this reason plate XXII is titled "Barco Creek". On Martens' original pencil sketch the word "Para" has been written next to "Bara" at some later stage. See Catalogue #19.] As can be seen from this extract of Account of Pictures [N.B. see Appendix 1 for the complete text of Account of Pictures during 1835], some of the most prominent citizens in the Colony during Martens time were purchasers of his Illawarra paintings and sketches. Most of the individual purchasers featured in the list had a connection with the region or had undertaken a visit there at some stage. Many were also well-known patrons of the arts. As noted previously, Governor Bourke considered Illawarra one of the most beautiful and richest parts of the Colony then known, and he was subsequently the first to purchase a Martens painting of the area. "Boat Harbour [Wollongong]" sold on 23 August 1835 to "His Excellency Genl. Bourke, Governor NSW" for six guineas, and was immediately dispatched to England, along with another Illawarra work titled "Illawarra Lake". It seems likely that Governor Bourke had supplied Martens with a commission for these works shortly after his arrival in New South Wales, thereby instigating his Illawarra visit. It is also very likely that "Boat Harbour" is the same work currently housed in the Wollongong City Art Gallery, and obviously based upon the pencil sketch "Boat Harbour, Wollongong" drawn on 8 July 1835. Martens executed a number of works based upon this sketch (see Appendix 4). Other notable purchasers of his Illawarra works included: *William M'Arthur, fifth son of the famous John M'Arthur of Camden Park, who purchased "View of Five Islands" for ten guineas - this work, featured in Lindsay (plate VII & 10), is still owned by M'Arthurs descendents, along with many other Martens works; *J.E. Manning, a prominent Sydney merchant and later to operate a steamer service to Illawarra; *Reverend Frederick Wilkinson, Illawarra's first resident Anglican minister between 1833-7;

*George McLeay, son of Alexander McLeay. The elder McLeay, the builder of Elizabeth Bay House, was also the owner of a large property near Wollongong and a prominent figure in the social and scientific community of Sydney in the 1830s and forties, occupying the position of Colonial Secretary. He was also a patron of Martens; *Samuel Elyard, a fellow artist and good friend of Martens, whose family resided in the Nowra area of southern Illawarra; and *Lady Jane Franklin, wife of the then Governor of Van Diemans Land, Sir John Franklin, who on 30 July 1839 purchased "View Dapto, Illawarra" for £15.15. According to Account of Pictures this was Martens' most profitable sale of one of his Illawarra landscapes since his arrival four years earlier. Lady Franklin had only recently visited Illawarra during her overland journey from Port Phillip (May-July, 1839), travelling throughout the area, from Bulli to Kiama, between 10-17 July 1839. During that visit she was chiefly under the guidance of one Captain Robert Marsh Westmacott, himself an amateur artist and owner of a large amount of land in Illawarra. Lady Franklin was a well-known connoisseur of the arts and was quick to purchase what Martens himself may have considered one of his finest works to date, for the fifteen guineas Lady Franklin paid for "View Dapto, Illawarra" was then a large sum of money. The relatively high price suggests that the work was a large watercolour painting, or possibly done in oil. The years 1835-42 were to be relatively prosperous ones for Martens, with his income from the sale of art works averaging £300pa during this period. However the depression of the early to mid 1840s affected him severely, sending many of his wealthy patrons into bankruptcy. (See Table 6: Conrad Martens Income, 1835-78). In 1843 his income was only £56, against £315 for 1842. The next few years would be difficult times for Martens and his young family - in 1844 he earned just £66, of which nearly one third went towards payment of his wine account to W.Brown. To make matters worse, April 1844 saw the death of his six week old son, William Conrad - undoubtedly Martens' bleakest year in the Colony, and the one in which he was least productive with regards to his art, perhaps also as a result of his son's death. This lack of funds would also have made it extremely difficult for him to obtain adequate supplies of paints, papers, canvases, inks, frames, and other assorted art supplies, the majority of which he usually procured from England. Much valuable information regarding Martens' art and his personnel circumstances can be gleaned from Account of Pictures. It is, unfortunately, very difficult to reconcile the Illawarra works mentioned in Account of Pictures with surviving works as listed in Table 4, due to a number of factors: *Within Account of Pictures Martens more often then not fails to specify the medium of the work sold, i.e. whether it was executed in oil, watercolour, wash, pencil, etc., the one exception with regards to his Illawarra works being his annotation "Oil" next to the work "Brush at Illawarra". It would be easy to assume that the cheaper works were pencil sketches or monotone washes, and that the dearer works were in oil or fully developed watercolours; however Martens may have also priced his works according to size, quality, and how much an individual could afford to pay. Therefore any deductions based solely upon price must necessarily be tentative. *There is no consistency in titling of works, either by Martens within Account of Pictures, or by subsequent owners. For example, Martens has titled 4 works "Illawarra Lake" between 1835-44, and 6 "Mullet Creek" between 1853-5, yet it is unlikely (though possible) that within these two groups every view is identical. *Martens may not have recorded the disposition of all his works within Account of Pictures. Those paintings exchanged in kind, used to pay debts, executed upon special commission, or given away to

family and friends may not have been recorded. *Some works mentioned in Account of Pictures may not have survived to the present day. Others, unsigned and undated, may lie unattributed in public or private collections, either within Australia or overseas. Many carry nondescript titles such as "Landscape", "Coastal Scene", "Mountain Scene", etc, when in fact the majority could be accurately titled by comparison with his pencil sketches. Comparisons could then be made with those listed in Account of Pictures to more clearly identify the works. *Only dated works or those with known provenance can be assigned an Account of Pictures equivalent with any certainty. Assigning dates to un-dated works is a precarious business; the best that can be hoped for is to locate an equivalent original, dated, pencil sketch, which will at least indicate the earliest possible date of execution of the work. Account of Pictures therefore remains an interesting and useful document in the study of Martens' works, giving his long Australian career a certain overall perspective; however it is far from being a comprehensive catalogue of his lifework. Despite the vagaries mentioned above we can nevertheless attempt to equate many of his surviving Illawarra works with those mentioned in Account of Pictures. The following list (Table 6) is such a comparison: Table 7 Comparison of Illawarra works mentioned in Account of Pictures with Surviving Works Account of Pictures Equivalent Surviving Views Boat Harbour 1835 Boat Harbour, Wollongong Boat Harbour, Wollongong 1835 Mount Keira Coastal Scene Coastal Scene Illawarra Lake 1835 Lake Scene, Illawarra Illawarra Lake 1876 View of a lake with 2 small islands Lake Illawarra Lake Illawarra Illawarra Lake 1835 Lake at Illawarra Illawarra Lake 1844 Illawarra Landscape showing a lake and a mountain Lake at Illawarra Five Islands, Illawarra 1836 View of Five Islands and Hat Hill View of Five Islands 1861 View of Five Islands 1861 The Five Islands, South Coast View of the Five Islands Dapto, Illawarra 1836 Dapto View Dapto, Illawarra 1836 Station View at Dapto, Illawarra 1859 Dapto, Illawarra 1859 View at Dapto 1859

View at Dapto 1877 Bush Scenery, Illawarra 1836 The Brush at Illawarra Brush at Illawarra Oil 1838 Illawarra, 1848 Brush at Illawarra 1842 Bushland Scenery Tom Thumbs Lagoon 1837 Tom Thumbs Lagoon View at Illawarra - Tom Thumbs Lagoon Bara Creek, Illawarra 1837 Para (Bara) Creek Bara Creek 1838 Barco Creek Mountain Scene Barco Creek View, Terry's Meadows 1859 Terrys Meadows This comparison is revealing in a number of areas - it clearly indicates possible connections between surviving, untitled or mistitled, and undated works and those specified in Account of Pictures; it hints at possible missing works, such as "Tom Thumbs Lagoon" which sold for £6.6 in 1837; and it also reveals the number of preliminary sketches and washes Martens produced before offering a work for sale. Martens collection of Illawarra paintings presents us with many examples of the various stages of his art, i.e. from pencil sketch, through pencil and/or wash drafts, to completed watercolour or oil. Conrad Martens in Illawarra When Conrad Martens arrived in New South Wales in April 1835 he was at his most enthusiastic, with the next decade proving to be his most productive (though it is open to discussion as to whether his finest works came from this period or later on, during the 1860s and seventies). Though he was to find much inspiration on the shores of Sydney Harbour later in life, during those first few years in the Colony his search for dramatic, picturesque landscapes took him to a variety of areas throughout New South Wales, such as the Blue Mountains, Illawarra, Fitzroy Falls near Moss Vale, and Bungonia Gorge near Marulan. Though his search for the Picturesque was often limited by obligations to fulfil commissions, he was fortunate in that many of his patrons shared his interest in the Picturesque and were happy to point out relevant locations within the Australian bush which they considered would be of interest to Martens. Charles Throsby took him to Fitzroy Falls (called by Martens "The Falls at Quarooilli") in 1836; Hannibal McArthur introduced him to the spectacular Bungonia Gorge (called by Martens "The Coral"); and individuals such as Captain King, John McArthur, and Governor Bourke directed him to areas such as Govets Leap in the Blue Mountains (1835) and the Illawarra escarpment above Wollongong (1835). As Daniel Thomas (1963) points out, Martens' early Australian works (pre 1850s) are very "informative", almost to a formula in that they contain an abundance of picturesque elements and are bristling with items such as native flora and fauna, local geological specimens, Aborigines and Europeans, buildings, shipping, etc. In reference to Martens Sydney Harbour paintings, though it could apply to his work in general, Thomas suggests: Martens' later work is not so specifically informative. It becomes a more purely romantic response to the enchantments of Sydney Harbour and to effects of storm and sunshine. But all his work is distinguished by a sense of atmospheric space.

Those early sketching expeditions to Illawarra, the Blue mountains, the Southern Highlands, and the New England region, were to provide him with a large core of material upon which to work at some later stage, and also to satisfy his obviously substantial artistic needs, judging by the quantity and quality of his works during that period. Those journeys into the Australian countryside, so soon after his arrival, were important in consolidating his artistic skills and revealing to him some of the unique qualities of the Australian landscape. After having spent many months "trapped" aboard the Beagle and other ships during his travels from England to Australia, Martens would have relished the opportunity to get back on solid ground and explore his newly adopted homeland. As Bonyhady (1985, p.75) has noted, Martens was "the first colonial artist to celebrate the Australian wilderness in numerous paintings". This is amply revealed in his Illawarra, Blue Mountains, and Southern Highlands works of the 1830s. Martens was fortunate in visiting many of these areas before the effects of white settlement became too obvious or permanently scarred the landscape. Illawarra in July 1835 was one such unspoiled area. Though in Illawarra for only 10 days, the effect upon Martens was to be profound, perhaps reinforcing his decision, made in Valparaiso in November 1834, to settle in the Colony. As we have seen, those Illawarra pencil sketches would provide him with inspiration and ideas for many years to come - he was still executing views of Dapto, in 1877, some forty years after visiting the area and just one year prior to his death. His work "View from Mount Keira" (Cat #57), was sold on 1 November 1861 and is almost identical to the work "The Five Islands, South Coast" painted in 1836, pointing to his habit of re-executing former works, either for his own personal reasons or as a result of some new commission. In such instances he would use his large collection of sketchbooks as the reference material for these new interpretations. Those Illawarra views were obviously a favourite of Martens and his patrons. Martens would therefore have journeyed to Illawarra in 1835 knowing he had a specific job to do, i.e. to sketch and make notes of as much of the area as possible, knowing in the back of his mind that he may never have the opportunity to visit there again. For this reason his surviving pencil sketches from that 10 day visit show a great variety of both landscape and vegetation - from the picturesque views of the coastline and escarpment, through homestead panoramas, to detailed botanical studies. Just as he would continue to paint Illawarra scenes throughout his lifetime, with each subsequent work made slightly different and reflecting his gradual acclimatization to his adopted country, so also between 1835-78 he was continually drawn to the shores of Sydney Harbour, to sketch and paint scenery which he believed deserved constant reinterpretation. Martens was the only noteworthy Colonial-period artist to settle in Sydney and paint Sydney Harbour, along with many other New South Wales localities, over a period of more then forty years. Each new work would be in some way different, evidence of an obviously fertile imagination. Perhaps his finest work is to be found amongst those numerous views of Sydney Harbour executed during the 1860s and seventies, when his regular income from the position he obtained as Assistant Parliamentary Librarian - gained in October 1863 and held until shortly before his death in 1878 -allowed him to indulge himself in his art. Though he may not have been as prolific during these latter years, his work was nonetheless some of his finest as he was free to paint according to his own tastes. Back in 1835 an aspect of Illawarra which obviously caught the eye of Martens was the lush vegetation to be found south of Wollongong and along the escarpment, distinguished by majestically tall and slender cabbage trees, palms, giant figtrees, and masses of entangled vines - witness his sketch "The Brush at Illawarra, Mullet Creek, 14 July 1835" and the botanical studies from that same visit. This lush vegetation was to become an obvious feature of many of his later watercolours of Illawarra - as seen in "View of a lake with two small islands, 1835", and "View from Mount Keira" [1861].

After having visited South America with the Beagle expedition during 1833-4, and visiting Tahiti and New Zealand in 1835, Martens had developed a taste for the inclusion of lush vegetation within his paintings. He would therefore have obviously enjoyed sketching the sub-tropical vegetation to be found at Illawarra, reviving memories of those far-off places, and assisting him in the completion of works from those localities long after his arrival in New South Wales (see Account of Pictures for reference to the many Tahitian, South American and New Zealand works completed by Martens, and sold, after 1835). Another aspect of Illawarra which took his interest was the distinct topography of the region, and more specifically the relationship between the coastline and the nearby mountainous escarpment - at Wollongong the distance between the mountain and the sea being only about three miles, tapering off to contact in northern Illawarra, and expanding in the south to form a roughly triangular, fertile coastal plain. This closeness between the mountains, the coastal plain, and the sea at Illawarra would provide Martens with a variety of opportunities for sketching. Whether working on a view looking west (from the coast towards the escarpment) or looking east (from the Illawarra escarpment towards the coastline), Martens found great satisfaction in bringing all the elements of the natural view together within his pencil sketches, to produce an accurate, yet picturesque image, using all those skills acquired during his years of study under Fielding, and honed during his subsequent travels. The view from the escarpment behind Mount Keira looking towards the Five Islands and Pacific Ocean contained most of the elements Martens enjoyed working with - an interesting natural border for the view composed of lush vegetation; craggy, broken rocks in the foreground; and a distant view full of space and variation. In studying the art of Conrad Martens, the difference between his early work in England, prior to his time with Darwin and the other scientists aboard the Beagle, and his later Australian work, becomes obvious - the post-Beagle work is less Turnerian, containing more detail and definition. The year spent with the scientists obviously heightened his awareness to detail in nature and honed his sketching skills. This aspect of his development - namely a more naturalistic, less romantic approach - would also have been reinforced by his attempts to incorporate aspects of Australiana within his works, whether they be native flora and fauna, aspects of local geography and geology, or aboriginal natives. All these elements would be used to improve the local significance of a work, and were employed in his Illawarra works. Martens put a lot of thought into his painting and was deeply concerned with portraying both the actualities of, and impressions created by, nature. Always interested in improving his skills, he had learnt much from the Captain of the Beagle, Robert Fitzroy, with regards to the structure and variety of cloud formations and other features of the sky, as Fitzroy was a well-known and well-respected meteorologist. The underlying theoretical basis to Martens work, arising from his initial training in England and followed by constant study throughout his lifetime, is partially revealed in his "Lecture Upon Landscape Painting", delivered to a group of amateur artists gathered at the Australian Subscription Library, Sydney, on 21 July 1856. The following extract from that lecture (the original manuscript is to be found in the Mitchell Library, C338) emphasises aspects of his technique which especially apply to some of his Illawarra landscapes. Within these works the accurate representation of the relationship between elements of Illawarra topography - namely the mountainous escarpment, coastal plain and rugged coastline, and the far ocean horizon - was to provide Martens with a real challenge: In most instances therefore, if not always, I advise that distant mountains should be drawn higher than strict linear perspective would allow, because of the impossibility of giving their full amount of aerial perspective, and the only means by which a correct idea of their magnitude can be given. Respecting the horizontal line there is a rule generally insisted upon, which is, "That it must never be placed at half the height of the picture because it would divide it into two equal parts". Now if the

horizontal line must necessarily divide the picture into two parts, it would I think be a matter of little moment whether these two parts were equal or unequal. I would however give the painter but little credit for good composition who allows his horizontal line to cut the picture in two, under any circumstances; moreover if in taking a subject from a considerable elevation, say from the top of a mountain, we are to make the line above the middle of the picture, and if on descending the level plain below we are desired to have a low horizon, surely there must be some place by this same reasoning half way up where it would be right to make the line also between the two extremes, at which place it might probably turn out was the best point of view after all. Much of this theory is masterfully put into practice in Martens' watercolours "The Five Islands, South Coast, NSW" [1836] and "View from Mount Keira" [1861]. Both works are renditions in watercolour of his pencil sketch "View of Five Islands and Hat Hill, Illawarra, July 7 /35". Bernard Smith (1985, pp.312-313) in comparing one of Martens' earlier English works "High Tor, Dartmoor" (Lindsay, plate II & 5) with "The Five Islands, South Coast, NSW" (Lindsay, plate VII & 10), comments as follows: We are immediately aware of the greater degree of visual analysis which Martens has sought to incorporate into his interpretation of the latter scene. The delicate transitions of colour suffusing sea and sky may be contrasted with the simple recipe employed in the Devonshire painting. For Martens here paints marine horizon with years of observation and close association with an outstanding meteorologist [Captain Robert Fitzroy] behind him. Similar vegetation, though generalized, is rendered to conform to the requirements of botany. Martens has included not only the eucalypt and the cabbage tree palm, together with the hanging vines so characteristic then of the Illawarra. He has also incorporated two typical plants, the waratah and the grass tree, as foreground embellishments. And by painting the flat sandstone platforms which overlook the coast in this region, he has given some account of the geology of the district. Here, in short, Martens has sought to elevate exotic topography to the full stature of an artistic interpretation. Executed from a vantage point on the edge of the escarpment, just south of Mount Keira, within this work Martens was faced with representing the coastal plain, the Five Islands merging into the blue Pacific Ocean, and the far horizon, all within a framework of the thick, mountain vegetation. The finished watercolours vary from the pencil sketch only in their attempt to enhance the natural, picturesque qualities of the scene - the foreground is less cluttered with vegetation, and two figures, perhaps travellers resting after the long ascent up Mount Keira road from the coastal plain, have been added. The addition of figures or animals in completed works was a common device employed by Martens. His early, pre-1845, Australian views often included Aboriginals alongside Europeans, though later works tended towards European figures. The earlier [1836] version of the view from the Illawarra escarpment, is framed by two large gums, and possesses a spacious central section; whereas "View from Mount Keira" [1861] - which is typical in style to many of his later (1860s and seventies) works, being overall finer and more detailed - does not adhere to this formula: its focus has been shifted from the edges towards the centre of the painting; the large tree on the left edge has been removed, while those in the middle have received new emphasis; the travellers in the foreground have also been shifted further towards the centre; the large rocky ledge on the right (a typical picturesque element) has been replaced by a number of smaller rocks; and the latter work also contains a more detailed and botanically accurate representation of the local flora - a skill which Martens continued to improve upon throughout his time in Australia. While the 1836 version of this view is more "picturesque", the later [1861] version is more accurate, and truer to nature in its portrayal of the Illawarra landscape. Martens obviously felt the need to re-interpret this classic panorama in the light of a more mature understanding of the Australian bush he had gained in the intervening years between 1835 and the 1861. With the escarpment being such a dominant feature of the Illawarra landscape, Martens was therefore interested in forcefully displaying the "magnitude" of the Illawarra mountains. This is best seen in the works "Boat Harbour, Wollongong", "Barco Creek", and "Mount Keira and Mount Kembla from the

main South Coast road". All use the distinctive forms of Mounts Kembla and Keira, singularly or combined, as centrepiece/s to the work. In most instances he draws them higher and nearer than in the natural view, enhancing their aerial perspective and making them the dominant features. Martens applies all his artistic skills to transpose their natural grandeur onto paper. It was in such instances that the artist strayed from being simply a recorder of the landscape into an interpreter. The escarpment and its various "Mounts" are such obvious and overwhelming features of the Illawarra landscape, that their representation would always provide problems for an artist. Whether they be present as far-off hills - witness "Tom Thumbs Lagoon" and "Beach Scene at Illawarra" - or the dominant centrepiece as in the above three works, Martens was able to skilfully incorporate them into his pencil sketches and watercolours with a skill unmatched by others before or since. In comparison with the mountains encountered in South America, such as the Andes and those in the south near Cape Horn, the Illawarra "mountains" were/are mere hills, yet Martens used them to best advantage to make those Illawarra works all the more Picturesque. [For a more fuller discussion of Martens individual Illawarra works, see Appendix 4: Catalogue of Works.] Summary From this brief study of a mere slice of Martens' total work we have seen the artist develop an obvious appreciation and understanding of his newfound homeland. His changing ideals and methods are reflected in those Illawarra artworks executed between 1835-77. When he arrived in Sydney in April, 1835, he immediately set out to see as much of New South Wales as possible. Undoubtedly his plans of settling in the Colony would have been tentative, however the beauty of the country won him over - spurred on perhaps by what he had seen in Illawarra during that short stay in 1835 and the numerous commissions which came his way in those early years. Over a period of more than 40 years we have seen him continually return to those 1835 pencil sketches for inspiration and re-interpretation in the wake of his fuller understanding of things Australian. Martens, despite being educated in the ways of British artists such as Turner and Fielding, and steeped in the teachings of the Picturesque and Romantic schools, was nevertheless able to easily adapt to his new environment and become one of the first truly "Australian" artists. The view of Australia represented in his artworks is the view common among the white Australians of the time - being such a long time resident he was able to reflect this view as well as any other "local". It is fitting that Martens last great Picturesque excursion/series of works should centre around the Zig Zag Railway, Lithgow, which he visited in 1872 and later painted during the following two years. Just as the Picturesque attracted him to Illawarra and the Blue Mountains in 1835, and upon the shores of Sydney Harbour throughout his lifetime, so also the Zig Zag landscape beckoned him in 1872. Though in the twilight of his life, the combination of naturally rugged terrain, and overwhelming evidence of man's intrusion upon the landscape in the form of railway cuttings and sandstone viaducts which could be witnessed at the Zig Zag, would have held an irresistible attraction to one such as Martens steeped in the traditions of the Picturesque. This last series of works is testament to his lifelong preference for such views, even though the dictates of living in New South Wales and raising a family hampered his freedom in searching out, and painting, such landscapes. Conrad Martens died on 21 August, 1878, at 68 Edwards St, St Leonards, of "disease of the heart", a condition which, according to his death certificate, he had suffered for two years previous. He was then aged 77 years.

The following obituary appeared in the Town and Country Journal of 24 August, 1878: Death of Mr. Conrad Martens It is with regret that we announce the death of Mr. Conrad Martens, the Sydney artist par excellence. In art circles all over the world Mr. Martens works were deservedly admired, and it is not too much to say that no one has more accurately caught the tone of Australian colouring and transferred it to paper. He first visited this part of the world as draughtsman to the hydrographer on the Beagle during the famous scientific cruise under the late Admiral Fitzroy, when Mr. Charles Darwin made the investigations in many branches of natural science that have made this voyage a memorable one. Mr. Martens subsequently settled in Sydney, and became assistant librarian at the Houses of Parliament. His leisure time he spent in following his natural genius for water-colour drawing. He had studied in England under the celebrated Copley Fielding, R.A., and his earlier sketches of scenery in the neighbourhood of his Devonshire home were in the style of that artist, but in later life he developed a very distinctive style of his own. He always painted carefully and refrained from any excessive multiplication of pictures. His works are highly prized in English galleries, and always obtained good prices. For many years he has lived in a tree embowered cottage on the North Shore, a fit home for a painter. During the last few months his strength has been visibly failing, and it is some time since he was able to attend to his Library duties. At the ripe age of 77 he has passed away, respected by all who knew him, and with his talents recognised by all capable of forming a judgement on art subjects. Martens was buried at St Thomas's, North Sydney, in the cemetery of the church he had helped design, and of which congregation he had been a long time member and Church Warden. His good friend the Reverend W.B. Clarke, the celebrated "Father of Australian Geology", had been the rector at Saint Thomas' during most of those years that Martens had resided at Saint Leonards. His death marked the end of an era in the history of Australian painting, for the 1880s would see the flowering of those artists of the Heidelberg School in Victoria, including Charles Condor, Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Frank McCubbin, who were developing their own techniques for capturing the essence of the Australian landscape in a way which they believed had not been successfully done before. Their new vision was inspired by the Impressionist movement in France and in many ways was seen as a rejection of the works of the Colonial-period artists. Though they criticized the microcosmic style of art typified by the work of Eugene von Guerard, many found empathy with the style of Conrad Martens for he, of all Colonial-period artists, had sought to capture those unique aspects of Australian light, landscape and environment within his painting, and not simply by the insertion of indigenous flora and fauna. Many of Martens works, especially those from his later years, have a bright and airy quality about them which brings to mind many of the later works by artists of the Heidelberg school and other Australian Impressionists. While we owe much to Conrad Martens for recording Illawarra in its most picturesque state - helping us to in some way understand Governor Bourke's reference to it as "The Garden of New South Wales" - it is obvious that he, along with many other artists of his era, owed much to the region for providing real inspiration and a source for their palette, thereby helping them come to terms with this strange new land and, more importantly, assisting us 150 years later to reach a similar level of understanding and appreciation of Illawarra's natural beauty. This is the true value of the art of Conrad Martens, for in forcing us to both look back and look closer at our natural environment, and reminding us of natures intrinsic beauty, his artworks achieve a quality which makes them timeless, to be accessible and appreciated by generations to come. In rediscovering Conrad Martens and his Illawarra works we are not only opening our eyes to the past, but also instilling in our consciousness ideas on what we hope the future will bring - perhaps a return to that picturesque paradise of 1835.