Sixteenth-century watercolor reportage from the New World

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Between 1584 and 1590, gentleman-artist painter John White rode along on five British journeys to the New World. His job was to "draw to life" what he encountered. Sometimes he succeeded, but even when he didn't he still made beautiful art. Smithsonian has a profile of White, including a fine selection of his watercolors. From Smithsonian:

John White wasn't the most exacting painter that 16th-century England had to offer, or so his watercolors of the New World suggest. His diamondback terrapin has six toes instead of five; one of his native women, the wife of a powerful chief, has two right feet; his study of a scorpion looks cramped and rushed. In historical context, though, these quibbles seem unimportant: no Englishman had ever painted America before. White was burdened with unveiling a whole new realm.

"Sketching the Earliest Views of the New World"