Forbes, James, 1749-1819, Views in England, Wales, and Scotland, circa 1787-circa 1819
- Title(s):
- Views in England, Wales, and Scotland.
- Additional Title(s):
- Spine title: Views in England, Wales, Scotland
- Published/Created:
- Great Britain, circa 1787-circa 1819.
- Physical Description:
- approximately 400 drawings in 3 volumes ; 54 x 40 cm
- Holdings:
- Rare Books and ManuscriptsFolio A 2023 71Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon CollectionView by request in the Study Room [Request]
Note: The Study Room is open by appointment. Please visit the Study Room page on our website for more details. - Copyright Status:
- Copyright Not Evaluated
- Full Orbis Record:
- http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/4517421
- Classification:
- Drawings & Watercolors
- Notes:
- Title devised by cataloger.
Of green leaf, bird, and flower: artists' books and the natural world, page 53
The volumes were previously numbers 38-40 (of 50) in "The Forbes Collection" in the library of St. Mary's College, Oscott. The collection was presented to Oscott by Charles Forbes, comte de Montalembert, upon the death of his mother, Eliza Rosée Montalembert (née Forbes). Yale Center for British Art collections include the following volumes from the material previously at Oscott: A voyage from England to Bombay with descriptions in Asia, Africa, and South America, 1765-1800, 13 volumes (Folio A 2023 69); Travels in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland, in 1796 and 1797, 1796-1799, 2 volumes (Folio A 2023 70); Views in England, Wales, and Scotland, circa 1787-circa 1819, 3 volumes (Folio A 2023 71); Birds, insects, flowers, and fruits, circa 1788-1817, 1 volume (Folio A 2023 72); Collection of British portraits, circa 1700-1817, 3 volumes (Folio A 2023 73).
Provenance: Elizabeth Rosée, comtesse de Montalembert (née Forbes); Charles Forbes, comte de Montalembert; St. Mary's College, Oscott, Birmingham; Paul Mellon.
The three volumes include approximately 250 watercolor and 150 wash drawings, one watercolor map, and 40 illustrations in other media including engravings, graphite drawings, and composite pictures. All have been affixed to leaves of the volumes. Most are signed, dated, and titled by Forbes, occasionally accompanied by verse or descriptive text. Most drawings date between 1787 and 1810. A handful of drawings in 1816 document a trip to Dover, on the way to Calais.
Aside from a large cluster of drawings of Scotland at the end of volume 3 (dated 1799), there is no apparent organization by geography, chronology, or theme. Frequent subject matter includes rural topography, churches, castles, ruins, country seats, rivers, and coasts. The most frequently depicted regions include Durham, the Isle of Wight, the Isle of Thanet, Devonshire, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Hertfordshire, and Northumberland. Wales appears in a cluster of drawings near the end of volume 2 and the middle of volume 3.
The section devoted to Scotland includes a dozen images of seaweed, some drawn in watercolor, others with specimens affixed to the page. There is also a composite picture of a ptarmigan drawn with watercolor and a small number of feathers.
In volume 2, a few drawings are credited to artists other than Forbes, including an interior of Salisbury Cathedral by "Miss E. Wickins," 1815; a scene in Cumberland, by Eliza Rosée Forbes, 1804; and a chapter house at Margam, by "Miss Wake." - Subject Terms:
- Forbes, James, 1749-1819 -- Travel.Forbes, James, 1749-1819.Great Britain.Marine algae -- Great Britain -- Specimens.Montalembert, Charles Forbes, comte de, 1810-1870 -- Ownership.Montalembert, Eliza Rosée, comtesse de, -1839 -- Ownership.Oscott College -- Ownership.
- Form/Genre:
- Drawings (visual works)
Watercolors (visual works)
Travel sketches.
Views. - Export:
- XML
"Of Green Leaf, Bird, and Flower" : Artists' Books and the Natural World (Yale Center for British Art) (May 15, 2014-August 10, 2014) : [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]
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