Matavai Bay, Tahiti

William Hodges (1744 - 1797)

Captain Cook Memorial Museum

1773-1774

William Hodges was the first professional European artist to visit Tahiti, a key site in all three of Captain Cook's voyages. Matavai Bay was the site of the first contact between Europeans and native people of the island during a key period of exploration and discovery. Hodges perfectly captures the singular landscape and atmosphere of the Pacific environment, the fishing boat in the foreground, with both precision and dramatic imagination.

• Medium: pen, ink & watercolour on paper
• Dimensions: 37.6 x 54.6cm
• Art Fund Grant: £25000 ( Total: £90,000)
• ArtFunded in: 2008
• Vendor: Christie's

Provenance

John Leach Bennett of Merton; by descent to Elizabeth Cook; by descent to private collector.

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