David Roberts RA (British, 1796-1864) View of Donaldson's Hospital from the North West (1851)
David Roberts RA (British, 1796-1864)
View of Donaldson's Hospital from the North West (1851)
signed 'David Roberts RA' (lower left)
oil on canvas
128 x 190.5cm (50 3/8 x 75in).
Footnotes:
Provenance
Commissioned by the architect W.H. Playfair.
The Donaldson's Trust.
Exhibited
Edinburgh, Royal Scottish Academy, 1852, cat.no.433, loaned by W.H. Playfair Esq.
Edinburgh, Scottish National Exhibition, 1908, loaned by Donaldson's Trust.
Literature
J. Ballantine, The Life of David Roberts, R.A., Edinburgh, 1866 p.170.
The art historian James Caw characterised David Roberts as 'the only Scottish painter of importance who has devoted himself to painting architecture...amongst British workers in the genre...he holds the foremost place.' [1] Painted at the height of Roberts' career, the present work is a spectacular view of his native Edinburgh and its appearance at this auction marks the first time in this masterpiece's 175-year history that it has been offered for sale.
David Roberts became one of the most celebrated British painters of the mid-19th century, despite beginning life in relatively humble circumstances. Born in Stockbridge, in 1796, he became apprenticed to an Edinburgh house painter and worked on theatrical sets before establishing himself as a landscape artist. Inspired by Turner, he made regular expeditions abroad and his carefully composed, atmospheric paintings conveyed both the excitement of experiencing picturesque and exotic sites with fascinating details. He soon became a rising star of British Art, as a contemporary review recognised:
'Mr Roberts is an artist possessing talents of the highest class; in his works profound art and the most scientific display of detail are equally perceptible; not as subservient the one to the other, but as co-operating to produce a perfect whole.' [2]
In 1838, following these earlier journeys through Europe, he set out on the most ambitious tour of his career, travelling through Egypt, Sinai, Petra and the Holy Land and arriving in Jerusalem the following year. On returning to Britain after each of his travels, he transformed his on-the-spot sketches and watercolours into grand, highly detailed oil canvases. Roberts' works were also used to create collections of lithographs, reproduced in deluxe folios, intended for rarefied circles of connoisseurship. The project was funded through advance subscriptions and Queen Victoria signed up as the first subscriber. Roberts' appointment as a Commissioner for the Great Exhibition of 1851, under the patronage of Prince Albert, confirmed his status. The present work was completed in the same year.
When Edinburgh printer and businessman, James Donaldson, died in 1830, he left his estate to charity. His will bequeathed 'all his property, heritable and personal ... to build and found a hospital for boys and girls, to be called Donaldson's Hospital'. Twenty years later, an impressive school building finally opened its doors at West Coates. Donaldson's School, as it came to be known, became an important part of Edinburgh's skyline.
William Henry Playfair designed the building in the Jacobethan style, built round a quadrangle in Tudor style with large corner towers which themselves are each made up of four smaller towers. As an architect at the end of his career, he must have been particularly pleased with the finished result as he commissioned Roberts to paint this masterpiece, for the princely sum of £200. When Queen Victoria officially opened the building, she is reputed to have said that the building was more impressive than many of her own palaces.
During his time in Edinburgh and London, Roberts had also developed a reputation as an architectural designer, although he narrowly missed winning the competition to design Edinburgh's Scott Monument. His skill in technical drawing, together with his royal patronage, may have prompted Playfair to commission this monumental oil painting of the newly constructed Donaldson's Hospital.
A related watercolour dated 3 October 1845, now in the National Gallery of Scotland, appears to have provided the basis for the present work. In the watercolour, Donaldson's Hospital is the sole focus and no figures appear. In the oil painting, by contrast, Roberts enlivened the foreground with washerwomen on the banks of the Water of Leith and a herd of cattle at the water's edge, separating the figures from the distant view. The combination of narrative incident, imposing architecture and distant hills, suffused with sunlight breaking through a cloudy sky, recurs to great effect across Roberts' landscapes. It was central to the reputation he built by uniting architectural grandeur with an idealised vision of rural life.
Roberts appears to have exercised some artistic licence in arranging Edinburgh's landmarks, although the general viewpoint is from the northwest of the city, with Donaldson's Hospital at its centre, beyond the building can be seen Edinburgh Castle, Arthur's Seat, Calton Hill and even North Berwick Law. Several other prominent buildings designed by Playfair also appear, including the Royal Institution building, now the Royal Scottish Academy, and the newly built National Monument of Scotland on Calton Hill.
Despite living in London, Roberts never forgot his beloved home city of Edinburgh. A few years earlier, he had painted Edinburgh from Castle Rock (Yale Centre for British Art). When exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1847, one critic felt it gave viewers 'the most complete representation of the most picturesque city in the world . . . as if they had visited the city itself by railway.' Robert's himself wrote in 1857 'Its dear old hill - even the Castle Rock - recalls the old times when I first tried my prentice hand on sketching, and although many sad changes have since taken place in the ancient town, the sight of it always brings with it reflections of many happy days.' [3] Another view of Edinburgh by Roberts, painted looking west from Carlton Hill was painted in 1863 and shows many of the same landmarks from the opposing view (Guildhall Art Gallery, London).
The Donaldson's Hospital building continued to be a much-loved feature in Edinburgh's architectural history, although the use changed over the decades. In 1856 it was agreed by the governors of Donaldson's, that deaf children should not be excluded and subsequently Donaldson's developed into a resource predominately for pupils who were deaf, although hearing children were always accepted. During the Second World War it became a prisoner of war camp in Edinburgh and the school housed both German and Italian prisoners. In 2008, Donaldson's moved to a new campus in Linlithgow. It continues there today, supporting pupils with a wide range of communication needs, as the National Body for Neurodiversity. Meanwhile, the original West Coates building has been developed into luxury apartments. The building remains 'Category A' listed. Furthermore, it stands as testimony to the special architectural and historical interest of this iconic structure of one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
[1] James Caw, Scottish Painting, Past and Present, 1908, p.155.
[2] Excerpt from The Gallery of Modern British Artists, Simpkin and Marshall, London, 1835.
[3] James Ballantine, The Life of David Roberts, R.A., 1866, p. 189.
For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Condition
Presents very well overall.The canvas has been lined.There is craquelure throughout - finer in the upper section, broader in the lower section. The canvas is not 'sitting flush' in the frame, the lower left corner has a gap of approximately 1cm between the canvas and the slip frame. This gap allows the edge of the canvas to be seen when inspected at an angle - it shows rubbing to the extreme edges and how the original canvas has been attached to the lining.There is a small amount of fine dust gathering along the lower edge.Inspection under UV light shows retouching, mainly crack-filling, more prominent in the lower half, finer in the upper half. There is are more concentrated area of re-touching in the lower right, where the water meets the river bank.See additional photos and detailed videos, including under UV, by using this link:Full images:CLICK HEREOverall frame dimensions: 158 x 215 x 16 cm.Not glazed.
David Roberts RA (British, 1796-1864)
View of Donaldson's Hospital from the North West (1851)
signed 'David Roberts RA' (lower left)
oil on canvas
128 x 190.5cm (50 3/8 x 75in).
Footnotes:
Provenance
Commissioned by the architect W.H. Playfair.
The Donaldson's Trust.
Exhibited
Edinburgh, Royal Scottish Academy, 1852, cat.no.433, loaned by W.H. Playfair Esq.
Edinburgh, Scottish National Exhibition, 1908, loaned by Donaldson's Trust.
Literature
J. Ballantine, The Life of David Roberts, R.A., Edinburgh, 1866 p.170.
The art historian James Caw characterised David Roberts as 'the only Scottish painter of importance who has devoted himself to painting architecture...amongst British workers in the genre...he holds the foremost place.' [1] Painted at the height of Roberts' career, the present work is a spectacular view of his native Edinburgh and its appearance at this auction marks the first time in this masterpiece's 175-year history that it has been offered for sale.
David Roberts became one of the most celebrated British painters of the mid-19th century, despite beginning life in relatively humble circumstances. Born in Stockbridge, in 1796, he became apprenticed to an Edinburgh house painter and worked on theatrical sets before establishing himself as a landscape artist. Inspired by Turner, he made regular expeditions abroad and his carefully composed, atmospheric paintings conveyed both the excitement of experiencing picturesque and exotic sites with fascinating details. He soon became a rising star of British Art, as a contemporary review recognised:
'Mr Roberts is an artist possessing talents of the highest class; in his works profound art and the most scientific display of detail are equally perceptible; not as subservient the one to the other, but as co-operating to produce a perfect whole.' [2]
In 1838, following these earlier journeys through Europe, he set out on the most ambitious tour of his career, travelling through Egypt, Sinai, Petra and the Holy Land and arriving in Jerusalem the following year. On returning to Britain after each of his travels, he transformed his on-the-spot sketches and watercolours into grand, highly detailed oil canvases. Roberts' works were also used to create collections of lithographs, reproduced in deluxe folios, intended for rarefied circles of connoisseurship. The project was funded through advance subscriptions and Queen Victoria signed up as the first subscriber. Roberts' appointment as a Commissioner for the Great Exhibition of 1851, under the patronage of Prince Albert, confirmed his status. The present work was completed in the same year.
When Edinburgh printer and businessman, James Donaldson, died in 1830, he left his estate to charity. His will bequeathed 'all his property, heritable and personal ... to build and found a hospital for boys and girls, to be called Donaldson's Hospital'. Twenty years later, an impressive school building finally opened its doors at West Coates. Donaldson's School, as it came to be known, became an important part of Edinburgh's skyline.
William Henry Playfair designed the building in the Jacobethan style, built round a quadrangle in Tudor style with large corner towers which themselves are each made up of four smaller towers. As an architect at the end of his career, he must have been particularly pleased with the finished result as he commissioned Roberts to paint this masterpiece, for the princely sum of £200. When Queen Victoria officially opened the building, she is reputed to have said that the building was more impressive than many of her own palaces.
During his time in Edinburgh and London, Roberts had also developed a reputation as an architectural designer, although he narrowly missed winning the competition to design Edinburgh's Scott Monument. His skill in technical drawing, together with his royal patronage, may have prompted Playfair to commission this monumental oil painting of the newly constructed Donaldson's Hospital.
A related watercolour dated 3 October 1845, now in the National Gallery of Scotland, appears to have provided the basis for the present work. In the watercolour, Donaldson's Hospital is the sole focus and no figures appear. In the oil painting, by contrast, Roberts enlivened the foreground with washerwomen on the banks of the Water of Leith and a herd of cattle at the water's edge, separating the figures from the distant view. The combination of narrative incident, imposing architecture and distant hills, suffused with sunlight breaking through a cloudy sky, recurs to great effect across Roberts' landscapes. It was central to the reputation he built by uniting architectural grandeur with an idealised vision of rural life.
Roberts appears to have exercised some artistic licence in arranging Edinburgh's landmarks, although the general viewpoint is from the northwest of the city, with Donaldson's Hospital at its centre, beyond the building can be seen Edinburgh Castle, Arthur's Seat, Calton Hill and even North Berwick Law. Several other prominent buildings designed by Playfair also appear, including the Royal Institution building, now the Royal Scottish Academy, and the newly built National Monument of Scotland on Calton Hill.
Despite living in London, Roberts never forgot his beloved home city of Edinburgh. A few years earlier, he had painted Edinburgh from Castle Rock (Yale Centre for British Art). When exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1847, one critic felt it gave viewers 'the most complete representation of the most picturesque city in the world . . . as if they had visited the city itself by railway.' Robert's himself wrote in 1857 'Its dear old hill - even the Castle Rock - recalls the old times when I first tried my prentice hand on sketching, and although many sad changes have since taken place in the ancient town, the sight of it always brings with it reflections of many happy days.' [3] Another view of Edinburgh by Roberts, painted looking west from Carlton Hill was painted in 1863 and shows many of the same landmarks from the opposing view (Guildhall Art Gallery, London).
The Donaldson's Hospital building continued to be a much-loved feature in Edinburgh's architectural history, although the use changed over the decades. In 1856 it was agreed by the governors of Donaldson's, that deaf children should not be excluded and subsequently Donaldson's developed into a resource predominately for pupils who were deaf, although hearing children were always accepted. During the Second World War it became a prisoner of war camp in Edinburgh and the school housed both German and Italian prisoners. In 2008, Donaldson's moved to a new campus in Linlithgow. It continues there today, supporting pupils with a wide range of communication needs, as the National Body for Neurodiversity. Meanwhile, the original West Coates building has been developed into luxury apartments. The building remains 'Category A' listed. Furthermore, it stands as testimony to the special architectural and historical interest of this iconic structure of one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
[1] James Caw, Scottish Painting, Past and Present, 1908, p.155.
[2] Excerpt from The Gallery of Modern British Artists, Simpkin and Marshall, London, 1835.
[3] James Ballantine, The Life of David Roberts, R.A., 1866, p. 189.
For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Condition
Presents very well overall.The canvas has been lined.There is craquelure throughout - finer in the upper section, broader in the lower section. The canvas is not 'sitting flush' in the frame, the lower left corner has a gap of approximately 1cm between the canvas and the slip frame. This gap allows the edge of the canvas to be seen when inspected at an angle - it shows rubbing to the extreme edges and how the original canvas has been attached to the lining.There is a small amount of fine dust gathering along the lower edge.Inspection under UV light shows retouching, mainly crack-filling, more prominent in the lower half, finer in the upper half. There is are more concentrated area of re-touching in the lower right, where the water meets the river bank.See additional photos and detailed videos, including under UV, by using this link:Full images:CLICK HEREOverall frame dimensions: 158 x 215 x 16 cm.Not glazed.
