Douglas
Date made: 1795
Description: Douglass (Douglas). Visible in the immediate foreground is Douglas Fort, with what might be the battery set up by Captain Samuel Cable in front of that. Behind the fort, the sea wall can be seen running in front of several properties. St George's church stands on its own behind the town, and is shown disproportionately large.
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: 1954-7218
Subject tags : #Johnwarwicksmith