Flour mill
Painting
1865 (made)
1865 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
William Simpson (1823 - 1899) was a distinguished watercolourist and war artist. Having established his reputation by documenting the Crimean war in 1854, Day and Sons, the London lithography firm, commissioned him to sketch well-known sites in and around Delhi associated with the Revolt of 1857 by Indians against the rule of the British East India Company.
Simpson arrived in Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1859 and travelled widely. His rapid pencil drawings formed the preparatory studies for his finished watercolours done after his return to London in 1862. His detailed journal, sketches and pictures from India resulted in these highly coloured, evocative, and romantic interpretations of the landscape and architecture.
Simpson completed the painting of a flour mill driven by oxen in 1865, after his return to London.
Simpson arrived in Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1859 and travelled widely. His rapid pencil drawings formed the preparatory studies for his finished watercolours done after his return to London in 1862. His detailed journal, sketches and pictures from India resulted in these highly coloured, evocative, and romantic interpretations of the landscape and architecture.
Simpson completed the painting of a flour mill driven by oxen in 1865, after his return to London.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Flour mill (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour on paper |
| Brief description | Painting of Flour mill driven by oxen, India, by William Simpson, pencil and watercolour on paper, London, 1865 |
| Physical description | Painting of a flour mill driven by oxen in India. The grinder is enclosed within a simple wooden hut supported by a long horizontal beam made from a tree trunk. A young boy pours the grain into a funnel like vessel connected to the large grinder in the centre. A woman and her child drive the oxen in a circular path to work the primitive machine. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | Flour mill. Wm. Simpson 1865. |
| Credit line | Purchased from Messrs Day and Son Ltd (London) in 1869 |
| Object history | Simpson, William (1823-1899). Painter and lithographer. Simpson was apprenticed to a lithographer in Glasgow and in 1851 came to London where he made views of the Great Exhibition. He became well known for his paintings with commissions by Queen Victoria to paint various important events in her reign. In 1859 the publishers, Day and Son, commissioned him to make drawings of India. On his return he produced "India, ancient and modern" (London, 1867), a series of illustrations of the country and its people. Later in 1876, he accompanied the Prince of Wales to India and published "Shikare and Tomasha, a souvenir of the visit of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to India" (London, 1876). |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | William Simpson (1823 - 1899) was a distinguished watercolourist and war artist. Having established his reputation by documenting the Crimean war in 1854, Day and Sons, the London lithography firm, commissioned him to sketch well-known sites in and around Delhi associated with the Revolt of 1857 by Indians against the rule of the British East India Company. Simpson arrived in Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1859 and travelled widely. His rapid pencil drawings formed the preparatory studies for his finished watercolours done after his return to London in 1862. His detailed journal, sketches and pictures from India resulted in these highly coloured, evocative, and romantic interpretations of the landscape and architecture. Simpson completed the painting of a flour mill driven by oxen in 1865, after his return to London. |
| Bibliographic reference | Registered File number RF/1869/6716 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1163-1869 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | February 23, 2003 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
