#MC52
June 1882 - May 1884
Two watercolours on paper: ca. 17x25,5 cm (6 ¾ 10 in) and ca. 12x17 (4 ¾ x 6 ¾ in), mounted on larger album leaves, ca. 25,5x33 cm (10x13 in). Signed “A.D.” in the lower corners, captioned and dated on the lower margins of the mounts. Minor mild foxing of the mounts, otherwise very good watercolours.
Two attractive watercolours of the Swiss Alps include a large blue-tone sketch of the ruined Unspunnen Castle in the Bernese Alps, with the summit of Jungfrau in the background. Dated June 12 1882, the watercolour was created just eight years after the first winter ascent of Jungfrau by American mountaineers Meta Brevoort and her nephew W.A.B. Coolidge. Another watercolour depicts a serene sunset over Monte Rosa, the highest peak in Switzerland, taken from Varese, Italy in May 1884.
The artist was Irish watercolourist Augusta Drummond, an acquaintance of renowned poet and artist Edward Lear (1812-1888). She was born in Kilberry, Kildare, Ireland to Robert Verschoyle and Catherine Curtis. On 5th July 1878 she married Captain Alfred Manners Drummond, nephew of 6th Duke of Rutland, Captain of the Rifle Brigade, discriminating art collector, acquaintance and client of Edward Lear. The couple had a honeymoon trip to India in 1878, and subsequently travelled to continental Europe and Australia; the travel impressions were realized by Augusta in a series of skillful watercolours. One of them depicting Tasmania and titled “Browns River near Hobart Town” is now in the collection of the National Library of Australia.
