Robert Marsh Westmacott Britain, Australia, 1801-1870

Amateur sketcher and watercolourist Robert Westmacott was born circa 1801 at Sidmouth, Devon, on the south coast of England and joined the British Army in 1823. Between 1823 and 1858 he travelled widely, both as a soldier and civilian, visiting Mauritius, South Africa, New South Wales, New Zealand, Brazil, Spain, France and Abyssinia. He recorded these travels in the many small pencil sketches and watercolours he produced at the time. He travelled to New South Wales in 1831 as Aide-de-Camp to the Governor, Sir Richard Bourke. On Bourke's posting back to England in 1837, he resigned from the army and purchased property at Illawarra, becoming a farmer, land speculator and brick maker. In May 1838 he issued a set of six lithographs entitled Series of Views in Australia, printed in London by the famous English lithographer C. Hullmandel and containing the first published view of Illawarra. Following the economic depression of 1841-44 in the colony, from which he never fully recovered he returned to England in 1847. He did return to Australia in 1850 with the promise of employment, but only stayed for two years, before returning again to Britain. He died in Twickenham London in 1870.

We have records of art auction sales by Robert Westmacott from 1976 and in total 13 works by the artist have been offered for sale, of which 10 (77%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $1,611 for Sketches in Australia sold by Christies in May 1983. No works have been offered for sale this year, and the last sale we have recorded for the artist was in 2022. Works by Robert Westmacott are held by the National Gallery of Australia.