Robert Dampier (1799–1874) was a British artist and clergyman.

Life

Dampier was born in 1799 in the village of Codford St Peter in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England. He was baptised on 20 December 1799. He was one of 13 children of Codford St Peter's rector Reverend John Dampier (1763–1839) and his wife Jane. In 1819, he went to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

as a clerk. In 1825, he was picked up in Rio to be the expedition artist on the English ship , under the command of Captain George Anson Byron. The ship was returning the bodies of King

Kamehameha II Kamehameha II (November 1797 – July 14, 1824) was the second king of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kingdom of Hawaii from 1819 to 1824. His birth name was Liholiho and full name was Kalaninui kua Liholiho i ke kapu ʻIolani. It was lengthened to Kala ...

and Queen

Kamāmalu Kamāmalu Kalani-Kuaʻana-o-Kamehamalu-Kekūāiwa-o-kalani-Kealiʻi-Hoʻopili-a-Walu (–1824) was Queen consort of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kingdom of Hawaiʻi as the wife of King Kamehameha II. Kamāmalu was short for Kamehamalu or Kamehamehamalu m ...

to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

(known by the British as "Sandwich Islands"). Both the king and the queen had died from

measles Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles v ...

during a visit to England. Robert Dampier spent 11 weeks in Hawaii painting portraits in oil paint and making pencil drawings of landscapes. After returning to England, he studied law at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and was then ordained in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. He married Sophia Francis Roberts in 1828. In 1837, he became rector of

Langton Matravers Langton Matravers () is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Purbeck, in the county of Dorset in the south of England. It is situated about west of Swanage town centre and south-east of Corfe Castle. In the 2011 Census the civil parish ha ...

church. Around 1843, the couple had a daughter who was named Juliana Sophia. Robert Dampier was widowed in 1864. He remarried in 1872 and had a daughter named Frederika by his second wife. Alongside his duties as a rector he continued to sketch until his death in 1874.

Collections

Major works by Robert Dampier are held by the

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. It has one of the largest single co ...

. The historic site

Washington Place Washington Place is a Greek Revival palace in the Hawaii Capital Historic District in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was where Queen Liliuokalani was arrested during the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Later it became the official residence of the go ...

, also in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

and a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

since 2008, holds major works by Dampier.

Paintings

Image:Robert_Dampier's_oil_on_canvas_painting_'Karaikapa,_a_Native_of_the_Sandwich_Islands',_1825.jpg, Robert Dampier's oil on canvas painting '' 'Karaikapa, a Native of the Sandwich Islands'', 1825 Image:Robert_Dampier's_oil_on_canvas_painting_'Tetuppa,_a_Native_Female_of_the_Sandwich_Islands',_1825.jpg, Robert Dampier's oil on canvas painting ''Tetuppa, a Native Female of the Sandwich Islands'', 1825 File:Robert Dampier (1800-1874) - Kamehameha III, 1825.jpg, Portrait of King

Kamehameha III Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name was Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula K ...

of Hawaii, oil on canvas painting, 1825,

File:Robert_Dampier_(1800–1874),_Nahiennaena_(1825).jpg, Portrait of Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena of Hawaii, oil on canvas painting, 1825,

File:'The H. M. S. Blonde', by Robert Dampier, 1825, Washington Place.jpg, HMS ''Blonde'', 1825 File:Robert Dampier - Vista da entrada da barra do Rio de Janeiro e Igreja da Glória do Outeiro.JPG, View of the entrance to

and Sugarloaf Mountain, 1824

Life

Collections

Paintings

References

Further reading