Nunnery
Date made: 1795
Description: The Nunnery estate showing old Douglas Bridge (erected 1778, rebuilt after storm damage in 1796, replaced by the present concrete structure in 1936), shipping and the brewery at the upper end of Douglas harbour; and, beyond, a distant view of the fafade of the old Nunnery mansion (demolished in 1824), formerly the home of midshipman Peter Heywood, of Muntiny on the Bounty (1789) fame. The painting shows the Nunnery as it appeared when it was occupied by Captain John Taubman.
This is one of a series of 18th century watercolour paintings depicting the Isle of Man executed by Britain's leading watercolour artist John 'Warwick' Smith. In the 1790s John ‘Warwick’ Smith was commissioned by the 4th Duke of Atholl, John Murray (1755-1830), then Governor-in-Chief of the Isle of Man, to complete a series of watercolour drawings of the Isle of Man. Twenty-six were completed in total, some of the earliest watercolour paintings depicting the Island. When the Duke died in 1830 the Atholls’ connection to the Isle of Man was severed, and the paintings were taken to Blair Castle, the ancestral home of the Atholl family. In the 1950s the entire set was rediscovered and purchased for the Manx Museum and returned to the Isle of Man.
Measurements: artwork: 30.5 x 43.5cm
Materials: watercolour on paper
Object name: painting
Collection: Art Collection
ID number: 1954-7216
Subject tags : #Johnwarwicksmith