The Queen's Bed Chamber, Kensington Palace

Book Description

London: Published by W. H. Pyne, 1818. Hand-coloured aquatint, heightened with touches of gum arabic. Very good condition apart from some light foxing and a 1 7/8" loss along the right edge of the bottom margin. 10 1/8 x 12 3/8 inches. 10 5/8 x 13 inches. A beautifully coloured print from "The History of the Royal Residences...," William Henry Pyne's comprehensive collection of plates depicting the interiors of Windsor Castle, St. James's Palace, Carlton House, Kensington Palace, Hampton Court, Buckingham House, and Frogmore. Erected in 1661 for the Earl of Nottingham, Kensington Palace became the royal residence of William III in 1689. Over the years, it underwent various renovations by architects such as Nicholas Hawksmoor and Sir Christopher Wren. Queen Victoria lived at Kensington for the duration of her childhood. Comprised of three volumes, Pyne's publication was an ambitious project involving several prominent engravers and draughtsman of the day including Sutherland, W. J. Bennett, R. Reeve, D. Havell and R. Cattermole. It constitutes an invaluable early nineteenth-century pictorial record of the magnificent interiors and furnishings of these palatial residences before they were significantly changed or, in the case of Carlton House, completely razed. The watercolour painter and aquatint engraver William James Bennett was born in England and received his training at the Royal Academy. He emigrated to the United States in 1826, and is best known for his views of American cities, including the Hudson Valley Region, Niagara Falls, and numerous port cities such as New York, Charleston, and Buffalo. Cf. Abbey, Scenery of Great Britain and Ireland in Aquatint and Lithography, 1770-1860 396; cf. British Coloured Books, 78; cf. Martin-Hardie, p. 91; cf. Prideaux, p. 348; cf. Tooley 389; cf. Benezit, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs, et Graveurs, vol. 2, p. 108.

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