January 2009

Charles Darwin: The Artwork and the Voyage of HMS Beagle

At the January meeting of FARNHAM DECORATIVE AND FINE ARTS SOCIETY, Peter Duffy, the Chairman, announced that the Study Day, entitled The Guilded Stage, A Social and Cultural History of Opera, on Friday, 27 February, was taking bookings and that the visit to Tyntesfield is confirmed for 26 May 2009.

James Taylor, Former Curator at the National Maritime Museum, Author and Ships’ Historian, gave a talk on Charles Darwin: The Artwork and the Voyage of HMS Beagle.  2009 marks the bi-centenary of Charles Darwin’s birth, as well as the 150th anniversary of the publication of his ground-breaking book ‘The Origin of Species’. 

The lecture covered the life of Charles Darwin and the influential members of his family, the significant journey of HMS Beagle between 1831 and 1836, and the life of HMS Beagle’s Captain Robert Fitzroy.  It told of Darwin’s father’s early ambitions for him to follow in his own footsteps to become a doctor, and of Darwin’s interest in botany and natural history taking precedence, leading to his being selected to join the Beagle to make observations of the journey and to be a companion to Fitzroy.  The main purpose of the voyage of the Beagle was to chart and survey the lands visited, to make geographical, botanical and biological records of the journey, and to return specimens that were found to Britain.  Two artists joined the Beagle journey to record what was seen:  Augustus Earle during the first part of the journey, and Conrad Martens in the later part. 

An impressive array of slides was shown including:  portraits of Robert Fitzroy, Charles Darwin throughout his life, and members of Darwin’s family; maps of the regions visited by the Beagle; images of the ports of call such as Tierra del Fuego, Rio de Janeira, the Galapagos Islands, Patagonia, the Bay of Island in New Zealand, Tahiti; sketches of life on board the Beagle, of the peoples encountered on their trips, and of the flora and fauna.

Darwin’s brilliance lay in his ability to observe, to make connections from his observations and eventually to draw the conclusions that led to his theory of evolution including man’s link to monkeys and apes.  For example, he pondered why the beaks of finches on the Galapagos Islands differed, why the giant ground sloth of the past was now smaller; and studied the nature of the different peoples on his journey.  His original book sold out despite its high cost of 14s. and the value of a First Edition is now £100,000.  He died at the age of 73 at his home in Kent, Down House, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Fitzroy was a brilliant surveyor and reached the rank of Vice Admiral in the navy.  He was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society and went on to found the Met Office, but  tragically took his own life at the age of 59.

James Taylor urged members to visit the Darwin Exhibition currently at the Natural History Museum to learn more.

Copy by Maralyn Sharpe
Photo by Graham Parlett