Picturesque Pursuits: Colonial Women Artists and the Amateur Tradition

Memoirs, journals, letters, and albums interpret and illuminate the often overlooked artwork produced by women in colonial Australia in this historical art text. Mainly amateurs whose artwork rarely left the family, these women recorded their impressions of the country in distinctive ways—drew in sketchbooks rather than on canvas, used pencil and watercolor rather than oils, and worked in miniature rather than full scale. Intimate portraits of loved ones, delicate sketches of flora and fauna, and panoramic landscapes—often composed on small pieces of cardstock or tiny squares of ivory—are just a few examples of the unique work created by these artists, marking the beginning of Australia's rich heritage of talented women.