Exploring Our Sense of Place Through Art

Be transported to another place through works from Exeter's fine art collection

Pastoral Scene near Cairo, Evening (1895) by Frederick Goodall RA (1822-1904)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Be transported to lands both near and far in this evocative exhibition which explores the theme of place. It features important works from RAMM’s fine art collection from the 18th century to the late 20th century. Artists through the centuries have sought to capture the characteristics that make a place special and unique.

Roadside Scene in Rome (the Ancient Wall between Porta Salaria and Porta Pinciana) (1800) by Francis Towne (1739/40-1816)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Roadside scene in Rome

Francis Towne was a watercolour painter of landscapes and is known for his wide-ranging subject matter. It was after a tour to North Wales in 1777 that he started to specialise in watercolours. Early works are known for their elegant style whilst works after 1800 are heavier and more conventional.

The Fish Market, Rome (1820/1830) by Samuel Prout OWCS (1783-1852)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Samuel Prout was born in Plymouth in 1820. He attended Plymouth Grammar School where the headmaster encouraged his artistic ability. His first position was as copyist for the antiquarian John Britton (1771-1857) with whom he travelled to Cornwall making sketches for Britton’s Beauties of England published in 1810.

Cypresses at L’Ariccia (1818/1830) by Charles Lock Eastlake PRA (1793-1865)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Charles Lock Eastlake studied under the artist Benjamin Haydon (1786-1846), who specialised in grand historical paintings, portraiture, and contemporary subjects. He was Haydon’s first pupil. Eastlake cemented his reputation as an artist with his work ‘Napoleon on board the Bellerophon’, having sketched Napoleon in Plymouth on route to his exile on the island of St Helena.

Italian Port Scene - Sunrise (1770/1775) by Thomas Patch (c.1720/25-1782)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

This painting by Thomas Patch was commissioned as a companion to the Sunset view and both are in original matching frames.

A Caricature Group in Florence (1765/1766) by Thomas Patch (c.1720/25-1782)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Thomas Patch, originally from Exeter, travelled in Italy in 1747 and settled in Florence in 1755. His approach to caricature was good-humoured rather than satirical. At that time, Florence was an important city for the English gentry on the Grand Tour of Europe and in this work Patch has observed the attitudes of cultural tourists aspiring to be connoisseurs.

Continental Coastal Scene (1747/1777) by Thomas Patch (c.1720/25-1782) (attributed artist)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

This painting by Thomas Patch was previously titled incorrectly as ‘St Michael’s Mount’. A possible subject matter may be the Castello Aragonese, an historical monument on the island of Ischia. The monument stands on a volcanic rock connected to the island by a bridge built in 1438 by Alfonso of Aragon.

Self Portrait (1770) by Thomas PatchRoyal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

A View of Florence (1770/1775) by Thomas Patch (c.1720/25-1782)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

The composition is taken from Bellosguardo, a renowned beauty spot to the south west of Florence. From here, most of the city’s prominent buildings are visible, including the Campanile and Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, and Palazzo Pitti. Patch painted several versions of this popular view, one of which is now in the Royal Collection.

View of Fiesole, near Florence (1770/1775) by Thomas Patch (c.1720/25-1782)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Patch’s view of the hills surrounding Fiesole, a small town near Florence, is a companion piece to his View of Florence. Many 18th century Grand Tourists stayed in the city of Florence for several months and Fiesole was a popular excursion.

Santa Maria della Salute, Venice (1922/1931) by Arthur Henry Knighton Hammond RI (1875-1970)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Hammond was a prodigious painter who is best known for his society portraiture, landscapes and industrial paintings. He used a variety of mediums in his work, but is best known as a watercolourist.

Having left school at 11, he first worked in a grocery store before entering into an apprenticeship with a watchmaker. He pursued his interest in art studying at Nottingham School of Art in the evenings. He left his apprenticeship to concentrate on art full time.

Lake Albano and Castel Gandolfo (1792) by Joseph Wright of Derby ARA (1734-1797)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Known as the ‘painter of light’ Joseph Wright of Derby was one of the key members of the intellectual and philosophical movement known as the Enlightenment that dominated Europe in the 18th century.

His work is famed for its chiaroscuro effect, where light and dark is used in strong contrast. He was strongly influenced by the work of Gerrit van Honthort and Rembrandt van Rijn.

Landscape, Stirling Castle (1835) by David Cox OWCS (1783-1859)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

David Cox was an important figure in the golden age of watercolour, which ran from about 1750 to 1850.

He was one of the most important members of the Birmingham School of landscape artists and is considered one of the greatest English landscape painters and an early precursor of Impressionism.

On the Quay, Inverary (1791) by John White Abbott (1763-1851)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

John White Abbott was a surgeon and apothecary, who came from a wealthy family that owned many estates in Devon. He studied under the artist Francis Towne in Exeter and also acted as Towne’s patron.

His work was based on local subjects, but he also made sketching tours to the Lake District and Scotland in 1791.

Sunset Scene - Canal San Marco, Venice (1857/1889) by Amedee Rosier (1831-1898)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Amedee Rosier was a topographical artist of great versatility. Throughout his career he travelled extensively through North Africa, Egypt, France, Venice, and Constantinople searching for visually interesting scenes. He is best known for his Venetian works of which ‘Sunset Scene-Canal San Marco’ is an important example.

Afterglow - The Alhambra and Sierra Nevada, Granada (1901/1913) by Albert Moulton Foweraker RA/RBA (1873-1942)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Albert Moulton Foweraker was fascinated by the effect of light upon the landscape. He is known especially for his moonlit paintings and use of the colour blue.

The subject of this painting is the Alhambra, the palace, and fortress complex in Granada. It was first built in AD 889 on the remains of Roman fortifications and developed further in the 13th century. In the distance is the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

Palma, Majorca (1900/1920) by Albert Moulton Foweraker RA, RBA (1873-1942)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Foweraker was educated at Exeter Cathedral School, then Christ’s College Cambridge. He was awarded a degree in applied science in 1893 and later qualified as a milling engineer. Occasionally, Foweraker would work as a science demonstrator at Exeter Technical College.

A Canal in Bruges (1905/1910) by Nathaniel Hughes John Baird ROI (1865-1935)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Nathaniel Hughes John Baird was born in Yetholm, Roxburghshire in south east Scotland. He was the son of John Baird who is known for the foundation of the first ragged schools, which were dedicated to the free education of poor children in 19th century Britain.

Llyn Nantlle, North Wales (1776/1778) by George Barret the Elder (1728/32-1784)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

This picturesque view is from the Western end of Llyn Nantile, Gwynedd, North Wales. The rugged beauty of the Welsh mountains is emphasised by the design and tonal values chosen by the artist, George Barret the Elder.

Goats in Norway (1955/1960) by Beryl Newman (1906-1991)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Beryl Newman was a pupil of the celebrated artist Hubert van Herkomer (1849-1914) and Roland Wheelwright, the Australian born painter and illustrator.

She loved to travel and visited many different countries with her father, following the death of her mother. Many drawings were inspired by these travels. Later she travelled extensively in her own right.

Pastoral Scene near Cairo, Evening (1895) by Frederick Goodall RA (1822-1904)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Frederick Goodall was the son of the celebrated steel line engraver Edward Goodall. He was educated at Wellington Road Academy, London. Charles Dickens had been a former student there.

Beilstein on the Moselle (1864) by William Callow RWS (1812-1908)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

William Callow was a landscape painter, watercolourist, and engraver. He trained under the artist Copley Fielding, learning the method of outdoor or ‘plein air sketching’.

Castle of Chillon, Lake Geneva (1830/1887) by William Collingwood Smith RWS (1815-1887)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

William Collingwood Smith is best known for his watercolour painting, though he also painted in oils. He specialised in landscapes, river scenes and maritime subjects.

The Old Man on Coniston Lake (1791) by John White Abbott (1763-1851)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

John White Abbott’s tour to the Lake District and Scotland in 1791 is his only known extensive tour outside of Devon. Abbott travelled to the Lake District in the second week of July 1791.

The Old Man, Coniston Lake, is a fell, a high baron landscape feature. It rises 2,634 feet, or 803 metres high, west of the village of Coniston and Lake Coniston Water.

The Esterels from near Bandol (1880/1910) by John Shapland (1865-1929)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

John Shapland was born in Dawlish and lived in Exeter for most of his life. He is known for both landscapes and seascapes in watercolour and oil.

This watercolour with its loose composition and continental style of colouring is typical of his work. It depicts the Esterel Massif, a Mediterranean coastal mountain range in Provence, south east France.

A View on the Coast of France (1777/1784) by Thomas Luny (1759-1837)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Cornishman Thomas Luny specialised in seascapes. At the age of 11 he moved to London. There he became apprentice to the marine painter Francis Holman who specialised in views of London shipyards, paintings of river traffic, and naval scenes.

Maritime Alps (1865/1895) by John MacWhirter (1839-1911)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

John MacWhirter was a Scottish landscape painter. He attended school in Colinton, Edinburgh. He was unsuccessfully apprenticed to Oliver Boyd, an Edinburgh bookseller following the death of his father. This was not a success and he stayed just a few months.

Apple Blossom, Riversbridge Farm, Blackpool (1921) by Lucien Pissarro (1863-1944)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

A founder member of the Camden Town Group, Lucien Pissarro did not visit Applehayes Farm. Instead he found inspiration in Blackpool Vale, four miles south west of Dartmouth. He first visited the area in 1913 to recover from illness, but returned many times in later years. He was sometimes accompanied by his daughter Orovida Camille Pissarro and Camden Town Group member James Bolivar Manson.

Cologne (1821/1824) by Samuel Prout (1783-1852)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

In 1818 Prout visited mainland Europe for the first time and was drawn to the picturesque architecture, streets and marketplaces found there. He became known in the 1820s for skilful depictions of architectural subjects. The first to use lithography, he published many of his views in folios which helped to make this new medium popular. Prout’s work is characterised by its natural composition.

On the Rhine (1812) by Samuel Prout OWCS (1783-1852)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Samuel Prout attended Plymouth Grammar School where the headmaster encouraged his artistic ability. His first position was as copyist for the antiquarian John Britton (1771-1857) with whom he travelled to Cornwall, making sketches for Britton’s Beauties of England and Wales published in 1810-15. Prout visited Europe in 1818. He went on to secure the position of Painter in Water-Colours in Ordinary to King George IV in 1829 and afterwards to Queen Victoria.

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Towne drew this waterfall by the side of Lake of Geneva on his return trip from Rome with the artist John Warwick Smith. Purchased with assistance from the Sir Harry Veitch Bequest Trust Fund, 1964.

Bullack Cairo (1849) by Louis Haghe (1806-1885) and David Roberts (1796-1864)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Roberts toured Egypt from September 1838 to January 1839. He made sketches of his tour and produced watercolours on his return home. This lithograph appeared in volume three of Egypt and Nubia with historical descriptions by William Brockedon. In the text it is titled Principle Mosque of Boulak. Brockedon wrote, ‘It would be difficult to imagine a structure more beautiful and striking than the mosque before us.’

Sacred Circle, Mis Tor, Langstone Moor, Dartmoor (1890/1896) by Frederick John Widgery (1861-1942)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

F.J. Widgery was commissioned to produce 22 watercolours of Dartmoor scenes to illustrate a revised edition of Samuel Rowe’s A Perambulation of Dartmoor, published in 1896. He represented the most prominent features of the landscape such as the tors, standing stones, rivers and bridges. In 1953 RAMM took an opportunity to purchase the complete original set. Each scene is portrayed in the fresh, bright colours of late spring and early summer. Unfortunately the plates were not reproduced in colour and these qualities are entirely absent in the publication

A Glade (1900/1940) by Albert Moulton Foweraker RA, RBA (1873-1942)Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Foweraker was educated at Exeter Cathedral School, then Christ’s College Cambridge. He was awarded a degree in applied science in 1893 and later qualified as a milling engineer. Occasionally, Foweraker would work as a science demonstrator at Exeter Technical College. In 1898 he took up art professionally. A prolific artist, he painted many landscapes of Devon, Cornwall and Dorset. He also made frequent trips to Spain and visited north Africa and the south of France. He produced many impressionistic paintings inspired by these travels.

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