Torbay, by Wilfrid Ball, RBA, RE (1853-1917). Watercolour reproduced in Hinds 159. Before 1917. The property of George N. Stevens, Esq. Torbay is an historic seaside borough in Devon. It was where the captured Napoleon was first brought aboard the Bellerophon in 1815, before the ship sailed on for Plymouth, already having attracted many sightseers. Torbay had also been the scene of a particularly tragic shipwreck in 1867. But there is nothing here of such dramatic events: in this panoramic view, typically enough for Ball, the sea looks very placid, with a cluster of vessels under sail and a rowing boat, and the coastline disarmingly benign.
Image download, text and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee. Click on the image to enlarge it. You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.
Link to related material
- John Brett's Torbay, Devon
- W. Q. Orchardson's painting, Napoleon on Board the Bellerophon
- Napoleon's Surprising Popularity in Nineteenth-Century England
- The Late Storm — Great Loss of Life in Torbay (report of a notable maritime disaster in 1867)
Bibliography
Hind, C. Lewis. "In Memoriam: Wilfrid Ball, Water-Colour Painter" The Studio: An Illustrated Magazine of Fine and Applied Art. Vol. 61 (Nos. 242-44, March-June 1917): 149-160. Internet Archive. Contributed by Robarts library, University of Toronto. Web. 11 September 2022.
Created 11 September 2022