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THE THYLACINE IN ART:
- NATURAL HISTORY ILLUSTRATION -
Image fifteen - John W. Lewin
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Entitled "A new animal of the Derwent", this oddly-proportioned representation by naturalist and artist John William Lewin (1770-1819) is one of the earliest surviving paintings of a thylacine, and dates from circa 1817.  Mr. W. Lister Parker presented the watercolour to the Linnean Society (London) in March 1921.

Lewin was an English-born artist who emigrated to Australia around 1800, and as the first professional artist of the colony of New South Wales, he illustrated the earliest volumes of Australian natural history.
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A new animal of the Derwent - John W. Lewin
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Another example of Lewin's work is his 1810 watercolour, "Platypus", a species that he certainly depicted far more accurately than the thylacine.  This is understandable, as it is highly likely that he painted his thylacine using only a skin and early description as reference.
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Platypus - John W. Lewin
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back to: Image ten - artist unknown return to the subsection's introduction forward to: Image sixteen - Heinrich Leutemann

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Photographs and other illustrations (where indicated) are © C. Campbell's NATURAL WORLDS.
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