#MC68
1889
Watercolour on paper, heightened in white, ca. 30,5x45,5 cm (ca. 12x18 in) within hand-drawn ink border. Traces of an old mount visible on verso, otherwise a very good watercolour.
This attractive scenic and skillfully executed watercolour shows the panorama of Gibraltar from across the Bay of Gibraltar in Algeciras with a merchant boat and fishing boats in the foreground. The skilled artist was probably serving in Gibraltar with the Royal Engineers when he created the painting. "Gibraltar became a key base for the British Royal Navy and played an important role prior to the Battle of Trafalgar and during the Crimean War of 1854–56, due to its strategic location. Its strategic value increased with the opening of the Suez Canal, as it lay on the sea route between the UK and the British Empire east of Suez. In the later 19th century there were major investments in improving the fortifications and the port"(Wikipedia).
