A recent acquisition, Cases de la Terre de Lewin (Géographe Bay, W.A.) 1801, is one of the earliest European visual representations of Western Australia.

The work is a detailed, small-scale ink and pencil drawing is by renowned French naturalist and artist Charles-Alexandre Lesueur, who voyaged under the captaincy of explorer Nicolas Baudin. It depicts a south-west Noongar and bush campsite scene, near where present-day Busselton can be found. Charles-Alexandre Lesueur was a naturalist who, trained as an artist, ensured that his drawings both meet the picturesque landscape requirement of the time while also providing useful scientific information.

AGWA acquired the print in 1977 and now welcomes the original drawing into the State Art Collection.

Lesueur work’s will hang alongside a work from Laurel Nannup, Old Spirit of the Sea which is a reflection on the arrival of the Duyfken in 1606, from a Noongar perspective. Much like the pairing of Julie Dowling’s Yagan and George Pitt Morrison, The Foundation of Perth in the WA Journey gallery, we take this opportunity to present multiple viewpoints of WA’s shared history and ensure conversations of reconciliation, traditional ownership, and a shared future continue.