Musée No:737.151
Regular price £25.00Porch with Statuary, Easton Neston, Northants
Artist: Charles Hamilton Smith
Date: 1776 - 1859
Hamilton Smith was an English artist, naturalist, antiquary, illustrator, soldier, and spy. His ability to sketch and draw in the field was noticed during the Napoleonic Wars when he sketched the frontier near Brussels. The Duke of Wellington used the drawings and reports when he first visited Waterloo. Although his military service, which ended in 1820, saw him travel extensively (including the West Indies, Canada, and United States), much of his time was spent at a desk job in Britain. One of his noteworthy achievements was an 1800 experiment to determine which colour should be used for military uniforms. He showed scientifically the advantages of grey uniforms over red ones and recommended that it be adopted for riflemen and light infantry. The British army did not follow his advice. He began sketching before he was fifteen years old, and he continued throughout his life whether he was voyaging down the coast of Africa or exploring the West Indies. History, zoology, and archaeology were his favourite subjects. He left behind him twenty thick volumes of manuscript notes and tens of thousands of his own watercolour drawings.
