William Westall - sketches of Wreck-Reef?
Monday, 20 October, 2003 6:25
From:

To:
richardjwestall@yahoo.co.uk
Hi Richard,I wonder, do you know anything about William Westall's sketches ofWreck-Reef?The reason I ask is that I have found a painting by Jorgen Jorgenson("King of Iceland" and Tasmanian convict). It is in the AlexanderTurnbull Library in Wellington, New Zealand - an ink/watercolour sketchof HMS Porpoise and Cato.(The two ships that were wrecked there in October, 1803).The reason I'm interested in Westall's sketches ... I believe he wasstranded on the reef for three months ... is that Jorgenson cannot haveseen the wreck for himself. (He was sailing on the Lady Nelson at thetime).So, I'm thinking that he must have traced/copied one of Westall'ssketches as the basis for his painting, probably completed while he wason the Bahama hulk in the Medway in 1808/09. (The paper is watermarked1808).I guess the other option would be that Westall and Jorgenson were intouch after their time in Australia, and that the whole picture is byWestall - but I think that's unlikely.Can you help at all? I can send you a black-and-white .jpeg of thepicture, if you would care to see it. Have to say that I'm feeling a bit- err - at sea here ... my interest is in the strange and varied careerof Jorgenson, rather than in his art works (such as they are) ;-)) Cheers,Lesley(In Melbourne, Australia ... on a grey, overcast day)