Campbell, Sophia, 1777-1883.
Formerly regarded as a watercolour painter and sketcher and as Australia’s first woman artist.
A sketchbook of unsigned drawings, 'Sketchbook of scenes of Sydney, Broken Bay, Newcastle and region, New South Wales, 1817-1840’, held by the National Library of Australia, was attributed to Sophia Campbell until 2009 on the basis of family tradition and a letter written to Sir John Ferguson. The letter, from Sydney barrister V.J. Rundell Miles and dated 21 November 1922, offered the sketchbook to Ferguson for 60 pounds. It noted “I believe the painter was the wife of merchant Campbell of Duntroon. The book came from there” (National Library of Australia MS3200 Box 86 Folder 37). A second sketchbook, held in a private collection in the United Kingdom until 2009, had also been attributed to Sophia Campbell; it contained The costume of the Australasians as well as Sydney in all its glory, an untitled drawing of the Philo Free trial and drawings of the voyage of the Matilda in 1817.
In 2009 both sketchbooks were re-attributed to Edward Close, the husband of Sophia Campbell’s niece. The trigger for the re-attribution was the availability for examination in Australia, prior to auction at Sotheby’s Melbourne in May 2009, of the second sketchbook. Comparison with works by Edward Close held at the State Library of New South Wales revealed a very similar style. The inclusion of drawings from the voyage of the Matilda also supported the re-attribution to Close, who accompanied his regiment to New South Wales on the Matilda in 1817. In that year, Sophia Campbell was recorded as living in Sydney i.e. she could not have created eye-witness drawings from the voyage of the Matilda. The provenance of the album auctioned at Sotheby’s was through the Campbell family, but this can be readily explained by the fact that Edward Close’s daughter Marrianne married a Campbell.
The re-attribution of the album auctioned at Sotheby’s in turn led to the re-attribution of the sketchbook in the National Library, which has the same size, binding, watermark and stationer’s label as the Matilda sketchbook and is very similar in style. Other evidence for the re-attribution of the sketchbook in the National Library included the presence of a painting of Morpeth which shows a completed St James Church in the distance. Building of the church commenced in 1837, three years after Sophia Campbell’s death. Edward Close is recorded as resident in Morpeth from 1821-66; he funded the costs of building St James’ Church.
The album auctioned at Sotheby’s was acquired by the State Library of New South Wales.
These re-attributions removed all known evidence that Sophia Campbell was an artist.
- Writers:
- Groom, Linda
Note:
- Date written:
- 2009
- Last updated:
- 2011
- Status:
- peer-reviewed
