natural history artist, author, surveyor and draughtsman, came from Ireland to Sydney in 1856 and worked in the Lands Department for thirty years as a draughtsman and surveyor. As well as being an enthusiastic ornithologist, taxidermist, natural history writer and collector, Fitzgerald was an extremely competent and prolific botanical illustrator; Lionel Gilbert considers him the most accomplished delineator of Australian plants since Ferdinand Bauer . Complete with macroscopic studies and superb dissections, his plates in Australian Orchids , published at Sydney in two volumes of twelve parts from 1875 to 1894, brought him international fame. The lithographic plates were produced in conjunction with Arthur James Stopps , then hand-coloured by other artists from Fitzgerald’s instructions and sample sheets.
Although Fitzgerald is known to have sketched natural history subjects from 1856, his public career as a botanical illustrator appears to have begun in September 1865 at the monthly meeting of the Horticultural Society of New South Wales. There, reported the Sydney Morning Herald , he produced 'some beautiful and exceedingly correct drawings of native flowers which he had traced. The pictures were very much admired and spoken of in terms of the highest commendation. It was thought that a book of drawings would be valuable to the society and it was suggested that they might also be made available in the Illustration of the Horticultural Magazine . Mr Fitzgerald also showed several specimens of coccus [sic] in different stages of development … point[ing] out some of the leading peculiarities of the insect’. At the May 1866 meeting Fitzgerald showed drawings 'of the insect popularly known as the “ladybird”, distinguishing the useful species from the destructive’. In 1867 two of his botanical illustrations, Clematis lanuginosum & Nuytsia floribunda , were reproduced in the Horticultural Magazine (vol. 4, no. 1).
Fitzgerald showed 100 of his 'beautiful coloured drawings of indigenous orchids’ at the 1871 exhibition of the Agricultural Society of New South Wales, his specimens having been collected from Cape York to Sydney. The following year John Fairfax & Sons exhibited woodcuts engraved from Fitzgerald’s drawings for a series published in the Sydney Mail .
Fitzgerald was elected a fellow of the British Linaean Society in 1874 and a member of the Royal Society of New South Wales two years later. He died in his home at Hunter’s Hill on 12 August 1892, survived by the three sons and three daughters from his marriage to Emily Blackwell Hunt in 1860.
- Writers:
- Staff Writer
- Date written:
- 1992
- Last updated:
- 2011
