Waitara, New Zealand antique print after JR Ashton c1888.

by Ashton, Julian Rossi

Small antique engraving. Waitara in Taranaki North Island.

Original small wood engraving c.1888 (fine later colour). Engraved after a drawing by J.R. Ashton for The Picturesque Atlas of Australasia (published in parts between 1886 and 1888 to commemorate 100 years since First Fleet settlement at Port Jackson, Sydney.) Picturesque Atlas included 30 large maps, with around 700 illustrations that were some of the finest of the late 19th century. The wonderful early Illustrations were by leading artists of the period. The text provides a wonderful overview of the region, its discovery, settlement and development in colonial times.

Julian Rossi Ashton (1851-1942) was an artist and art teacher who was highly influential in the artistic development of colonial Australia. Born in Surrey, England, Ashton was the elder son of a wealthy American, Thomas Briggs Ashton and wife Henrietta, the daughter of Sardinian diplomat Count Carlo Rossi. Ashton worked as an illustrator after arrival in Australia with his wife and son in 1878. From 1886 he taught art in Sydney and was greatly responsible for the appreciation of art in Australia. Established in 1935 his Sydney school, the Julian Ashton School (of Art), still exists today.