John Webber Britain, New Zealand, Australia, 1752-93
Past Sales
Sales by Medium
Where to buy or sell art works by John Webber
Auction Houses
About John Webber
Born in England in 1752, Webber was the son of the Swiss sculptor Abraham Webber. He studied in Berne and Paris, and on returning to England he was employed by the Admiralty as an artist on the voyage in the 'Resolution', accompanying Captain Cook on his third world voyage. During the voyage he recorded scenes in Canada, New Zealand, Van Dieman's Land, and Hawaii. He survived the massacre at Hawaii and on his return to England in 1780 produced a number of drawings and engravings. He exhibited around 50 works at Royal Academy exhibitions between 1784 and 1792, and was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1785.
We have records of art auction sales by John Webber from 1974 and in total 55 works by the artist have been offered for sale, of which 39 (71%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $506,000 for Portrait of Captain James Cook, RN., 1728-1779 sold by Sotheby's in March 1983. This year one work has been offered for sale. Works by John Webber are held by the Ian Potter Museum of Art, National Gallery of Australia and a further five major public national galleries (see list below).
John Webber is listed in the following standard biographical references:
- McCulloch, Alan McCulloch, Susan McCulloch, Emily McCulloch-Childs. The New McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art. 4th Edition, Aus Art Melbourne & The Miegunyah Press, 2006. Page 1011
- Kerr, Joan. Dictionary of Australian Artists, Painters, Sketchers, Photographers and Engravers to 1870. Oxford University Press, Australia, 1993. Page 845
- Campbell, Jean. Australian Watercolour Painters: 1780 to the Present Day. Craftsman House, Sydney, 1989. Page 379
- Gil Docking, with additions by Michael Gunn covering 1970-90. Two Hundred Years of New Zealand Painting, David Bateman Ltd., New Zealand, 1990 Page 20
- McGahey, Kate. The Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Artists Painters Printmakers Sculptors, Gilt Edge Publishing, Wellington, New Zealand, 2000. Page 265
- Dictionary of Australian Artists Online, an online resource for biographical data about Australian artists, designers, craftspeople and curators.
- The Find New Zealand Artists web site: a database of artist names that directs researchers to the rich resources found in New Zealand's libraries, art society exhibition histories and published sources.
Artists' Resale Royalty
Could the second and subsequent works by this artist sold after June 9, 2010 for over $1,000 be liable for the Artists' Resale Royalty? More info…
No, ineligible. The artist has been deceased for more than 70 years.
The Australian Art Sales Digest is a database of over 610,000 works by more than 12,000 artists who are listed as having either lived or worked in Australia or New Zealand, and an additional 36,000 foreign and other artists, offered for sale by auction in Australia and New Zealand from the early 1970s to the present day.
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