**early life and conviction** thomas bock, a pivotal figure in australian art, was born in 1790 in sutton coldfield, warwickshire, england. his early life was marked by musical inclinations, as evidenced by his role as a cathedral chorister at lichfield. however, it was not music but art that would eventually define his legacy. convicted of administering drugs to abort a fetus, bock was sentenced to transportation to van diemen's land…