The art of Captain Cook's voyages

Published in 1985 by Yale University Press, this three-volume scholarly undertaking by Rüdiger Joppien and Bernard Smith represents the definitive catalogue of the artwork produced during Captain James Cook's three voyages of exploration between 1768 and 1780. The collection was conceived to consolidate the disparate sketches, watercolors, and oil paintings created by the expedition artists—most notably Sydney Parkinson, William Hodges, and John Webber—whose work provided Europeans with their first visual documentation of the Pacific, its peoples, and its diverse flora and fauna.

The design and editorial focus of the series emphasize the transition of the Pacific encounter from scientific documentation to the aesthetic romanticism of the late 18th century. Joppien and Smith meticulously contextualize these images against the backdrop of Enlightenment exploration, exploring how these illustrations shaped Western perceptions of the South Seas. Upon its release, the work was received by the academic community as a monumental achievement in art history and anthropology, valued for its rigorous archival research and its role in preserving the fragile original materials housed in institutions like the British Library and the National Library of Australia.