FDA-D.488-2010
Parts
Object number
FDA-D.488-2010
Object type
Identification
Title
On the Sutlej River at Phillour
Pilkington
Pilkington
Title Type
assigned by cataloguer
collection
collection
Comments
Simpson was apprenticed to a lithographer in Glasgow before moving to London in 1851. He was sent to the Crimea in 1854 by the print publisher Colnaghi, to make drawings suitable for mass reproduction. The firm eventually made £12,000 out of Simpson's book, and the artist was taken on by the Illustrated London News as a war correspondent in images, a role he continued to perform for twenty years in various parts of the globe. Following the Indian Mutiny in 1857-9, Simpson hoped to make similar profits for himself, and planned a four-volume publication, to be illustrated by chromolithography. He arrived in Calcutta in October 1859, and remained in the sub-continent until 1862, travelling widely to visit the key locations in the campaign. He arrived at Simla, in the Himalayan foothills north of Delhi, in April 1860 and joined an expedition heading up the Sutlej valley. The bridge of boats over the river at Phillour had great strategic importance in maintaining communications between Delhi and the many British troops stationed in the north of the country; the securing of the fort at Phillour in the early days of the mutiny proved a vital success. Simipson's view shows the bridge in calmer times, with a procession of men and women on horseback crossing the river, accompanied by camels and elephants.
On his return, Simpson made 250 watercolours for the intended publication , but his publishers Day & Son went bankrupt, an event described by Simpson in his autobiography as 'the disaster of my life'. The drawings were offered for sale in 1869 at 25 guineas each, reduced from 50 guineas; they were latere reduced still further to £10 or £15, depending on size, in an effort to recoup some of the losses. Some of the images were later used elsewhere, but Simpson lost virtually all the money he had invested in the venture.
On his return, Simpson made 250 watercolours for the intended publication , but his publishers Day & Son went bankrupt, an event described by Simpson in his autobiography as 'the disaster of my life'. The drawings were offered for sale in 1869 at 25 guineas each, reduced from 50 guineas; they were latere reduced still further to £10 or £15, depending on size, in an effort to recoup some of the losses. Some of the images were later used elsewhere, but Simpson lost virtually all the money he had invested in the venture.
Other number
Pi 183
Description
Content (place)
India
Dimensions
height (actual size): 346mm
width (actual size): 495mm
width (actual size): 495mm
Inscription
Inscribed 'Sutlaj at Phillour' and signed and dated 'Wm Simpson/1860' (lower right)
Materials & techniques note
Pencil and watercolour heightened with white
Production
Person
Simpson, William, 1823 - 1899 (Artist)
Date
1860
History and association
Object history note
Exhibited: A Genius for Watercolour, Christie’s 2003, no. 66
Previous ownership
Pilkington, Alan, 1879 - 1973: Bequeathed to Eton by Alan Pilkington, 1973
References
• Wilcox, T., A Genius for Watercolour; Watercolours from the Eton College Collection, Christie's exhibition catalogue, London, 2003 (p. 74), Catalogue number: 66
