Torr Antiques & Decorative Arts

Description

This is one from a wonderful set of four early Victorian watercolours of views of Dover including the White Cliffs and Dover Castle, circa 1845, all of which are listed separately.

This view has a group of men and women on a cliff top overlooking a bay with a steam train near the foot of the cliffs pulling away from the docks, with the White Cliffs and Dover Castle in the distance. A reminder of old technology is in the form of a ploughman working his cliff top field with two horses and a wooden plough situated in the bottom left of the scene.

The presence of the railway dates the scene to no earlier than 1844 when the Folkestone to Dover line was opened, though other clues such as the soldier's uniforms in the other paintings suggest a date no later than the mid 1850s. The fact that there is a small crowd watching the train would indicate that the train was still a novelty and, perhaps, point to a date around 1845.

The previous owner had attributed these paintings to William Heath but we think this is highly unlikely as he died in 1840, four years before the railway line was opened. Currently, these paintings, therefore, lack an attribution.

Dimensions: Frame 58 cm x 43 cm
Image on view 44.5 cm x 29 cm
Weight 2.3 kg

Condition: The painting is in very good antique condition though perhaps a little faded. The gilt frame is somewhat distressed and has been touched-up with gold paint in places.

Each of these pictures was taken apart, cleaned and resealed in their original gilt early Victorian frames using framer's traditional paper tape.

Postage & Packing: £15 within the UK. Ideally, we would like to sell these paintings in pairs, as this would help to protect the glazing during transport.