In February 1856, landscape painter Conrad Martens sent a portrait, painted of him by a fellow artist, to his brother Henry, in England.

The accompanying note stated that, ‘the portrait is by Mr Nuyts, a Belgian artist, who painted with me for some time and has now gone to Batavia. There are some good opinions about the likeness, some say it is very good.’

Pierre Nuyts was a portrait artist who worked in Sydney in the 1850s.