Lot Essay
Thomas Shotter Boys was at the height of his powers in the early 1830s and his watercolours of this period are among the finest works he produced, combining a feeling of romanticism with careful detailing and a strong sense of place.
Westminster Abbey and the tower of St. Margaret's, Westminster are seen in the distance across St James's Park Lake. The watercolour dates from circa 1830 and though Boys was living in Paris at the time he appears to have returned to London frequently. He was clearly engaged by St. James's Park at this time as he exhibited a watercolour of Horse Guards, St. James's Park, at the Society of British Artists in 1830, no. 730.
Other London subjects from this time include Greenwich Hospital from the Park, signed and dated 1830 and St. Alphage from the Park, Greenwich, signed and dated 1831 (J. Roundell, Thomas Shotter Boys 1803-1874, London, 1972, pls. 34 and 33 respectively).
Westminster Abbey and the tower of St. Margaret's, Westminster are seen in the distance across St James's Park Lake. The watercolour dates from circa 1830 and though Boys was living in Paris at the time he appears to have returned to London frequently. He was clearly engaged by St. James's Park at this time as he exhibited a watercolour of Horse Guards, St. James's Park, at the Society of British Artists in 1830, no. 730.
Other London subjects from this time include Greenwich Hospital from the Park, signed and dated 1830 and St. Alphage from the Park, Greenwich, signed and dated 1831 (J. Roundell, Thomas Shotter Boys 1803-1874, London, 1972, pls. 34 and 33 respectively).