miniature painter and soldier, arrived at Sydney Cove in the Dromedary on 28 December 1809 as an ensign with the 73rd Regiment of Foot. His impressions of his arrival at Sydney with Governor Macquarie and the departure of Governor William Bligh, of the colony and his return voyage to England are known through the two surviving volumes of his journal (private collection). His descriptions are complemented with extremely crude drawings, although the Aboriginal scenes are somewhat livelier than the landscapes. Despite lack of finesse, Huey was interested in art and after meeting Anna Maria and John William Lewin in Sydney apparently took lessons from John in 1810-11. The two subsequently corresponded. Huey sent art supplies to John ('the Ultramarine was a prize indeed’), who returned his generosity with advice on painting and news of the colony.
It was probably largely because of his admiration for the Lewins that Huey determined to leave the army and become a professional painter. After being promoted lieutenant, he returned to Britain in the Atlanta in October 1811 carrying despatches from Macquarie and natural history illustrations by Lewin, three of which were engraved for William Leach’s Zoological Miscellany (vol. 1, 1814). In London, he entered the Royal Academy Schools and by 1814 was living at 14 Bedford Street, Covent Garden, from which address he exhibited in the next five annual summer shows at the Royal Academy. Described as a miniature painter, most of his exhibits were portraits, including a miniature on ivory of Governor Bligh (1814, NGA: ill Voices Spring 1995, p.71).
Huey is said to have died at Fort Erie, North America, in about 1818.
- Writers:
- Staff Writer
- Date written:
- 1992
- Last updated:
- 1989
