Displaying items by tag: kongouro from new holland

Two important 18^th century oil paintings by English artist George Stubbs will stay in Britain after an appeal backed by the well-known naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough. A £1.5 million donation from shipping magnate Eyal Ofer helped the National Maritime Museum acquire the works. The Heritage Lottery Fund, the Monument Trust, the Art Fund and members of the public also made significant donations.

 The paintings, which went on display at London’s Royal Academy in 1773, gave the British public their first glimpse of a kangaroo and a dingo. In January, after being sold to a buyer outside of the UK, the paintings were placed under a temporary export bar by the British government. The ban granted the British public enough time to raise enough funds to keep the culturally significant works in the UK.

Since Stubbs was unable to paint the animals, which are native to Australia, from life, he created Kongouro from New Holland (The Kangaroo) and Portrait of a Large Dog (The Dingo) from spoken accounts. He also made sketches of the kangaroo after inflating the animal’s preserved skin. Stubbs won praise for bringing the likenesses of the foreign animals to the British public for the first time. It is believed that Sir Joseph Banks commissioned the paintings after assisting in Captain James Cook’s voyage to the Pacific.

The works will go on display in the historic Queen’s House, which is part of the National Maritime Museum this coming summer. The gallery space will be named The Eyal Ofer Gallery.

In February 2013, the British government placed a temporary export ban on two important oil paintings by George Stubbs (1724-1806), an English painter best know for his depictions of horses. The works, which went on display at London’s Royal Academy in 1773, gave the British public their first glimpse of a kangaroo and a dingo.

The export ban went into effect shortly after it was decided by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest that the paintings were of outstanding significance for the study of 18^th century exploration of Australia and the public dissemination of knowledge during the Enlightenment. The point of the export ban was to grant UK museums enough time to raise the £5.5 million necessary to keep the Stubbs paintings in the UK.

The National Maritime Museum in London has launched a £1.5 million bid to acquire Kongouro from New Holland (Kangaroo) and Portrait of a Large Dog (Dingo). The museum has already secured £3.2 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund and an additional £200,000 from the Art Fund. If the Maritime Museum’s appeal is successful, the paintings will initially go on display in the Queen’s House in Greenwich in 2014.

Stubbs created the Kongouro and Portrait of a Large Dog based on spoken accounts, as he had never actually seen the animals. It is believed that Sir Joseph Banks commissioned the paintings after assisting in Captain James Cook’s voyage to the Pacific. Following their completion, Stubbs won praise for bringing the likenesses of the foreign animals to the British public for the first time.

The British government has placed a temporary export bar on two important oil paintings by George Stubbs (1724-1806), an English painter best know for his depictions of horses. The works, which went on display at London’s Royal Academy in 1773, gave the British public their first glimpse of a kangaroo and a dingo.

Since Stubbs was unable to paint the animals, which are native to Australia, from life, he created Kongouro from New Holland (The Kangaroo) (1772) and Portrait of a Large Dog (The Dingo) (1772) from spoken accounts. He also made sketches of the kangaroo after inflating the animal’s preserved skin. Stubbs won praise for bringing the likenesses of the foreign animals to the British public for the first time. It is believed that Sir Joseph Banks commissioned the paintings after assisting in Captain James Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific.

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey announced the temporary export bar on Wednesday, February 6, 2013 following a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee On The Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest. The ban will remain in place until August 5, 2013 and may be extended until November 5, 2013. Potential buyers will need $8.6 million to keep the paintings in Britain.