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C1871
The Flying Fox (Pteropus Poliocephalus)
Artist:
Helena Forde (1832 - 1910)
Large lithograph of the Grey-headed Flying-fox, the largest bat in Australia with an average wingspan of up to one metre by Helena Forde (nee Scott). The view is taken from the Sydney Botanic Gardens looking towards the present day Conservatorium. … Read Full Description
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Details
Full Title:
The Flying Fox (Pteropus Poliocephalus)
Date:
C1871
Artist:
Helena Forde (1832 - 1910)
Condition:
In good condition.
Technique:
Hand coloured lithograph.
AUTHENTICITY
Genuine antique
dated:
1871
Description:
Large lithograph of the Grey-headed Flying-fox, the largest bat in Australia with an average wingspan of up to one metre by Helena Forde (nee Scott). The view is taken from the Sydney Botanic Gardens looking towards the present day Conservatorium. The Botanic Gardens which is still a favourite roosting area for them. This is one of the best and largest images made.
Common names: Grey-headed Flying-fox or Grey-headed Fruit-bat
Binomial name: Pteropus Poliocephalus
First described: Temminck 1825
Distribution: VIC, NSW & QLD
Reference: The Mammals of Australia Strahan, 2nd edition. Page: 439-441, ill. 440
From Kreft, The Mammals of Australia
Biography:
Helena Forde (1832-1910) (nee Scott) and her sister Harriet Scott (1830-1907)
Were born in the Rocks area of Sydney to Harriet Calcott, daughter of an ex-convict, and Alexander Walter Scott, a wealthy man who would become known in the colony as an entomologist, grazier and entrepreneur. Helena and Harriet (known as the Scott sisters) were two of 19th century Australia’s most prominent natural history illustrators and possibly the first professional female illustrators in the country.
In 1846, Harriet and Helena, then aged 16 and 14, moved from Sydney to the isolated Ash Island in the Hunter River estuary with their mother, Harriet Calcott, and father, entomologist and entrepreneur Alexander Walker Scott.
There, surrounded by unspoilt native vegetation and under the inspiring tutelage of their artistic father, their shared fascination with the natural world grew. For almost 20 years, the sisters lived and worked on the island, faithfully recording its flora and fauna, especially the butterflies and moths.
The sisters continued to draw and paint commercially for the rest of their lives. Harriet drew botanical illustrations for the 1879, 1884 and 1886 editions of the Railway Guide to New South Wales, and they both executed designs for Australia’s first Christmas cards in 1879. Harriet died at Granville NSW in 1907 and Helena in 1910.
Reference; Australian Museum.
