Harriet Morgan (1830 – 16 August 1907) née Scott was one of 19th century Australia’s most prominent natural history illustrators and, along with her sister

Helena Scott Helena "Nellie" Scott (1832 Sydney – 1910) was an Australian illustrator of natural history. She was also a botanical collector who collected a number of type specimens. She and her sister Harriet Morgan (1830–1907) were the daughters of ...

, was possibly one of the first professional female illustrators in Australia. The sisters were also highly skilled amateur naturalists and collectors, rare accomplishments for women of their time. They were most notable for their magnificent drawings of moths and butterflies for the publication of the first volume of their father Alexander Walker Scott’s work ''Australian Lepidoptera and Their Transformations''.

Early life

Harriet Scott was the daughter of Alexander Walker Scott, entomologist and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

and Harriet Scott (née Calcott). Harriet was born in Sydney and she and her sister Helena were educated by their father on Ash Island. Through their education they acquired extensive knowledge of the natural world, including Australian plants, animals and insects.

Professional illustrator

Aglaosoma lauta & Cerura Australis 1864 Scott a705020

Harriet earned admiration and praise from leading colonial scientists who she collected for and corresponded with. After the publication of ''Australian Lepidoptera and their transformations, drawn from the life by Harriet and Helena Scott'' she was elected an honorary member of the Entomological Society of NSW. However, she was constrained by her class and position in society. Her father suffered financial hardship in the 1860s but no matter how poverty stricken he became, he did not want either of his daughters to accept commissions, sign their own published drawings or be formally educated, however Alexander Scott did finally relent and permitted his daughters signing their published drawings. Harriet was forced to work when he became bankrupt and she drew and painted commercially for the rest of her life. While finishing some plates of birds' eggs for Edward Ramsay in 1866, Harriet asked "... above all ... let nobody know you are paying me for doing them for you". Harriet drew

botanical illustration Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species, frequently in watercolor paintings. They must be scientifically accurate but often also have an artistic component and may be printed with a botanical ...

s for the 1879, 1884 and 1886 editions of the Railway Guide to New South Wales, and with her sister produced designs for Australia’s first Christmas cards in 1879. Scott married Dr Cosby William Morgan in 1882.

Publications

Harriet was one of the illustrators for the publication of ''Australian Lepidoptera and Their Transformations'' written by her father Alexander Walker Scott. The success of the Lepidoptera presented many opportunities for her and her sister. Apart from gaining honorary membership of the Entomological Society of NSW Harriet received copious requests for commissions. The following decades saw her and Helena produce most of the art for science publications in Sydney including Gerard Krefft’s ''Snakes of Australia'' (1869), ''Australian Fossil Remains'' (1870) and ''Mammals of Australia'' (1871), Edward Ramsay’s ''On the Oology of Australia'' (proposed but never published) and JC Cox’s ''Monograph of Australian Land Shells'' (1868). Her work is still used by scientists today. The artwork from ''Snakes of Australia'' and ''Mammals of Australia'' received a Very High Commendation at the

Sydney Intercolonial Exhibition The first Sydney Intercolonial Exhibition was a series of exhibitions inspired by the historic Great Exhibition held in London in 1851. The Colony of New South Wales mounted its first such exhibition in 1854 in preparation for the Paris Exhib ...

in 1870.

Death and legacy

Harriet died in Granville in 1907 leaving no descendants. Harriet, with her sister Helena, were largely forgotten until the 2011 exhibition ''Beauty from Nature: art of the Scott Sisters'' at the

Australian Museum The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...

in Sydney.

Gallery

File:Harriet Scott - Black-headed Snake, Aspidiotes melanocephalus - Google Art Project.jpg File:Helicarion mastersi shell 2.png File:Thylacinus cynocephalus lithograph Harriet Morgan Scott.jpg File:Aglaosoma lauta & Cerura Australis 1864 Scott a705020.jpg File:Plate from Australian Lepidoptera and their transformations, drawn from the life.jpg, A plate from Australian Lepidoptera and their transformations, drawn from the life

References

External links

Australian Museum Gallery

Other scientific illustrations

Australian Museum

Harriet Scott

DAAO The ''Dictionary of Australian Artists'' (DAA) was the outcome of a project begun in the 1970s at the University of Sydney under the leadership of Bernard Smith, and was continued after his retirement in 1981 by Joan Kerr. The dictionary wen ...

The Scott Sisters

Stories of Our Town – The Scott Sisters

A short video on the current use of ecological data collected by the Scott sisters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Harriet 1830 births 1907 deaths Australian illustrators Australian women illustrators Scientific illustrators Australian lepidopterists Women naturalists 19th-century naturalists 20th-century naturalists Australian naturalists Botanical illustrators Botanical collectors active in Australia 19th-century Australian women 20th-century Australian women