View of Charlotte Sound in New Zealand [Matavai Bay, Tahiti)]

John Clevely painted the series from original sketches made by James Clevely his brother, who was carpenter on board Captain Cook’s ship the Resolution’ JOHN CLEVELEY (1747-1786) John Cleveley was one of twins born to the shipwright and artist John Cleveley at Deptford on Christmas Day, 1747. He and his twin Robert followed their father into the Royal Dockyard at Deptford and John took drawing lessons from his father and from Paul Sandby at Woolwich. John junior exhibited at the Free Society of Artists from 1767 and at the Royal Academy from 1770. His association with Cook’s voyages began when he was selected by Joseph Banks as one of the natural history artists to accompany him on Cook’s second voyage on the Resolution in 1772 Brother James (c.1850-1821), described by Martyn as ‘that well-known ingenious and able artist and officer…now living at Greenwich’. He joined Cook’s Resolution as a carpenter on 10 February 1776 but is hardly mentioned by name in the voyage journals. Arnold Wilson (A Dictionary of Marine Painters, Leigh on Sea, 1967, p.24) describes him as Senior Coxswain on the Resolution and gives a date of birth of c.1750.