OH, THE PLACES ART GOES

“I am not an adventurer by choice but by fate.”
—VINCENT VAN GOGH

When 18th-century British explorer Captain James included not only sailors but scientists and artists who made records of the plants and animals they encountered. Upon his return, the naturalist Joseph Banks commissioned artist George Stubbs (English, 1724–1806)—best known for his paintings of horses—to create two paintings using the sketches and animal skins obtained during the voyage. Stubbs’ paintings of a kangaroo (above) and a dingo would become the first depictions of Australian animals in Western art.