Harden Sidney Melville
Harden Sidney Melville (1824 –1894) was an English painter, illustrator and draughtsman. He received a medal from the Society of Arts and had three paintings hung in the Royal Academy’s show between 1837 and 1841. He conducted the first official hydrographic survey of the north-east coast of Australia in 1842–1846 on board the H.M.S Fly, which was under the command of Captain Francis Price Blackwood.
Also recorded as Harden Melville · Harden S. Melville
Harden Sidney Melville
Harden Sidney Melville · Wellcome Collection, London · Wellcome Collection · Public Domain Mark
- Born
- 8 May 1824
- Birthplace
- London
- Died
- 4 June 1894 (age 70)
- Known for
- Paintings, illustrations and drawings.
- Awards
- Medal from the Society of Arts
- Nationality
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
- Occupation
- painter, engraver and draftsperson.
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Documentary summary
Harden Sidney Melville (1824 –1894) was an English painter, illustrator and draughtsman. He received a medal from the Society of Arts and had three paintings hung in the Royal Academy’s show between 1837 and 1841. He conducted the first official hydrographic survey of the north-east coast of Australia in 1842–1846 on board the H.M.S Fly, which was under the command of Captain Francis Price Blackwood.
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Harden Sidney Melville (1824–1894) was a British animal painter, draftsperson and engraver, among other activities. The animal painter was born and died in London. Works by Harden Sidney Melville are held at Vanderbilt Museum of Art and Yale Center for British Art.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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wikidata · Q21466076 · wikipedia · Harden Sidney Melville
In this article
Biography
Biography
He illustrated Curiosities of Savage Life by James Greenwood and several notable Australian works including Joseph Beete Jukes’s official narrative of Fly’s voyage and Ludwig Leichhardt’s Journal. He was the son of the engraver Henry William Melville (1792–1870) and Martha Harden. He died on 4 June 1894 and was buried in Camden on 8 June 1894. • Illustration — Harden Sidney Melville, Autumn Scene. Oil on canvas, c1880. • Illustration — Harden Sidney Melville, Winter Scene. Oil on canvas, c1880. • Illustration — Cannibal Cooking Pots from Curiosities of Savage Life by James Greenwood, S.O. Beeton, 1863, page 281. • Illustration — Darnley Island Mask Dance, from Curiosities of Savage Life by James Greenwood, S.O. Beeton, 1863, page 153.
A white man hides behind a make-shift shelter made from banana-leaves watching the beheading of a naked black man with a hatchet. Wood engraving by H.S. Melville., by Harden Sidney Melville
Harden Sidney Melville · Wellcome Collection, London · Wellcome Collection
Methods of torture in
Harden Sidney Melville · Wellcome Collection, London · Wellcome Collection
Key facts
Key facts
• Born — 8 May 1824 • Birthplace — London • Died — 4 June 1894 (age 70) • Place of death — London • Known for — Paintings, illustrations and drawings. The first official hydrographic survey of the north-east coast of Australia in 1842–1846. • Awards — Medal from the Society of Arts
Identity
Identity
Harden Sidney Melville is recorded as painter, engraver and draftsperson.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1824
Harden Sidney Melville born at London.
1894
Harden Sidney Melville died at London.
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.UK General Register Office, 1894 registration district Edmonton, sub-district Hornsey, county of Middlesex. Volume no. 3a, page no. 144. Number 469, death certificate application number 11412490-4.
- 2.Society of Arts (Great Britain). Premiums for the Sessions 1838-1839, 1839-1840. Google Books. 1838.
- 3.Melville, Harden Sidney, 1824-1894. Melville, Harden Sidney, 1824-1894 Items National Library of New Zealand. 1824-01-01.
- 4.Harden Sidney Melville. Design & Art Australia online. 2019-01-14.
- 5.Curiosities of Savage Life (Second Series) by Greenwood, James: Good Hardcover (1864) Lenny's Rare Books. www.abebooks.co.uk.
- 6.Showing all records The Scheding Index of Australian Art and Artists Art Research. artresearch.com.au.
- 7.Melville, Henry, 1792-1870. Melville, Henry, 1792-1870 Items National Library of New Zealand National Library of New Zealand. 1792-01-01.
- 8.Harden Sidney Melville – in the Web: UK, Burial and Cremation Index, 1576-2014. search.ancestry.co.uk.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q21466076: Harden Sidney MelvilleWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Prints
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