Susan Fereday (botanical artist)

For the photographic artist, see Susan Fereday.

Susan Fereday
Self-portrait of Susan Fereday, National Library of Australia
Born1815
Leicestershire, England
Died21 October 1878
Sale, Victoria, Australia
Other namesSusan Georgina Marianne Apthorpe
Known forthe study of algae and scientific illustration
SpouseRev. John Fereday
ChildrenElizabeth Henty Fereday
Scientific career
Fieldsalgology and botany

Susan Fereday (née Apthorpe) (1815, Leicestershire, England – 21 October 1878, Sale, Victoria, Australia)[1] was an algologist, botanical illustrator, artist and Sunday school teacher who made scientifically significant collections of botany specimens in Tasmania, Australia.[2] She was also a talented artist known for her accurate paintings of the local flora of Tasmania.[3]

Life

Eucalyptus viminalis by Susan Fereday

Fereday was born Susan Georgina Marianne Apthorpe in Leicestershire, England in 1815, to Freder Apthorp and Susan Athorp, née Hubbard.[4] She married John Fereday in London on 29 December 1836 and emigrated with her husband to Australia aboard the Aden on 5 November 1845.[4] The couple arrived at what was then Van Diemen's Land on 26 February 1846.[4] Fereday lived in "The Grove" in George Town, Tasmania and used the local flora as inspiration for her paintings.[3] Fereday exhibited her art at the Melbourne Intercolonial Exhibition of 1866-1867.[5] She was part of the Tasmanian contingent of this exhibition alongside fellow botanical artist Louisa Anne Meredith.[4]

Nemastoma feredayae by William Henry Harvey

Fereday was also a keen collector of algae specimens and established a scientifically significant collection. William Henry Harvey named two species after Fereday to honour her contribution to the study of algae, Dasya feredayae and Nemastoma feredayae.[6][3]

Fereday Place in the Canberra suburb of Conder is named in her honour.[7]

Family

Fereday married her husband the Reverend John Fereday in 1837 and had six children with him.[5] She moved to Sale, Victoria to live with her daughter and son-in-law after John's death in 1871.

Works

Sketchbook 1831-1834, Germany, Italy etc, National Library of Australia

[Sketchbook] / [Susan Fereday], National Library of Australia

Scrap book and sketches, National Library of Australia

See also

List of Australian botanical illustrators

References

  1. ^ "Fereday, Susan, 1815-1878". nla.gov.au. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Fereday, Susan (1810-1878)". Trove. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Norton, Leonie (2009). Women of Flowers: Botanical Art in Australia from the 1830s to the 1960s. Canberra: National Library of Australia. pp. 48–57. ISBN 9780642276834.
  4. ^ a b c d Kerr, Joan, ed. (1995). Heritage: the national women's art book; 500 works by 500 Australian women artists from colonial times to 1955. Australia: G+B Arts International. ISBN 978-976-641-045-2.
  5. ^ a b "Susan Fereday". www.cpbr.gov.au. Australian National Herbarium. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  6. ^ Hooker, Joseph Dalton (1844–1860). The botany of the Antarctic voyage of H.M. discovery ships Erebus and Terror in the Years 1839-1843 :under the command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross. London: Reeve Brothers. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  7. ^ "National Memorial Ordinance 1928 Determination of Nomenclature Australian Capital Territory National Memorials Ordinance 1928 Determination of Nomenclature". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Periodic (National : 1977 - 2011). 31 August 1988. p. 1. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
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