Sion House, Seat of His Grace the Duke of Northumberland

Location

Country: Malta
City: Valletta
Place: British High Commission

William Westall was born in Hertford; the son of a brewer and brother of Richard, RA. He enrolled at the Royal Academy schools in 1799 and was later draughtsman for a voyage to Australia and the South Seas. After being shipwrecked he travelled to Canton in China and to India, staying in Bombay for several months. He returned to England in 1805 but later set off for Madeira and Jamaica. He became a member of the Society of Painters in Water Colours (1811) and an associate of the Academy (1812). Following a mental breakdown he regularly visited the Lake District and published ‘Views of the Valley and Vale of Keswick’ (1820). His series of aquatints of the Thames, universities and public schools for Ackermann are among his most popular works.

Places

England, Middlesex

Subjects

rowing boat, fisherman, topography, Victorian Genre, sheep, river bank, river, man, woman, towpath, country house/mansion, barge/canal boat, paddle steamer, sailboat

Materials & Techniques

aquatint, colour aquatint

Artist

William Westall (1781 - 1850)
James Baily

Title

Sion House, Seat of His Grace the Duke of Northumberland

Date

published 1828

Medium

Colour aquatint

Dimensions

height: 21.20 cm, width: 29.50 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Agnew's, November 1962

Provenance

Purchased from Agnew's, November 1962

GAC number

5950