The Great Geyser

Location

Country: Iceland
City: Reykjavik
Place: British Embassy

In May 1789, encouraged by the naturalist and patron of science Joseph Banks, John Thomas Stanley (later first Baron Stanley of Alderley) set off from Leith, near Edinburgh, on an expedition to Iceland, accompanied by a crew of 26. His intention was to research the island and he returned with a collection of dried plants and numerous sketches drawn by Stanley himself and by other crew members. Edward Dayes and Nicholas Pocock were commissioned to prepare completed drawings from these amateur studies. This is one of two oil paintings in the Government Art Collection by Dayes, depicting geysers in Iceland (see also 'The New Geyser'; GAC 4822). Both are thought to be based on sketches by Stanley.

Edward Dayes was born in London and apprenticed to mezzotinter and painter William Pether. He entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1786. During his early career he worked as a miniaturist, later concentrating on the topographical landscapes in watercolour for which he is best-known. Thomas Girtin was a pupil of Dayes’ until an argument between the two seems to have led to Girtin’s imprisonment. Although not a pupil, J. M. W. Turner also studied Dayes’s work and some watercolours by Turner from the 1790s are virtually indistinguishable from those of Dayes. Towards the end of his career, Dayes began working in oils with less success. He was known as a difficult character with a fiery temper and committed suicide in London in 1804.

Places

Iceland

Subjects

landscape C18th, landscape C19th, genre, dog, water, geyser, rock formation, man

Materials & Techniques

canvas, oil, oil painting

Artist

Edward Dayes (1763 - 1804)

Title

The Great Geyser

Date

1790

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

height: 96.50 cm, width: 71.00 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Sotheby's via Frank T Sabin, 28 November 1958

Provenance

'The Property of a Nobleman'; by whom sold through Christie's, London, 'Pictures by Old Masters' sale, on 28 November 1958 (Lot 97; with GAC 4822); from which sale purchased by Frank T. Sabin on behalf of the Ministry of Works

GAC number

4821