FDA-D.1699-2023
Parts
Object number
FDA-D.1699-2023
Object type
Identification
Title
Female Figure Seated on the Shore
Title Type
Common name
Description
Painted image of a coastal scene, with large rock formation in the foreground, with seated figure; sail boats on the horizon
Comments
Walter William May's main profession was to serve as a naval officer. He retired with the rank of captain in 1869.
Before the advent of photography, sketching was a necessary skill for officers, who were expected to make visual records of coastal landscapes. May served on the 1852–54 Belcher expedition, a failed attempt to locate the Franklin Polar Expedition, missing since 1845. Some of the drawings he made during this voyage are preserved at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.
Before the advent of photography, sketching was a necessary skill for officers, who were expected to make visual records of coastal landscapes. May served on the 1852–54 Belcher expedition, a failed attempt to locate the Franklin Polar Expedition, missing since 1845. Some of the drawings he made during this voyage are preserved at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.
Description
Material
watercolour
Production
History and association
Object history note
Provenance: Collection of Richard Henry Allen Amis (K.S. 1945-50; 1932-2018); by whom bequeathed to Eton College
