New acquisition
30 June 2002
The Museum of London is pleased to announce the recent acquisition of an important oil painting of Westminster: The Houses of Parliament from Millbank, by David Roberts
The Houses of Parliament from Millbank was painted in 1861 by David Roberts, a leading British landscape and architectural artist who produced some of the most significant and memorable views of mid-nineteenth century London.
It will go on display in the Museum’s new World City galleries from 17 June 2002. The purchase price of £160,000 was met with considerable help from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Resource/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, the National Art Collections Fund and the Museum’s patrons club, The Harcourt Group.
Painted shortly after the death of the architect Sir Charles Barry in 1860, The Houses of Parliament from Millbank shows the Palace of Westminster when it was a relatively new sight in London’s rapidly changing landscape.
The view gives an insight into the scale of the impact of the magnificent new building on the London skyline and provides a rare glimpse of the houses and landing places that once lined the river where Victoria Tower Gardens stand today. Roberts’ admiring and fresh depiction catches much of the spirit and intention of Barry’s design.
The view is taken looking east from the Old Horse Ferry. The towers of the Palace of Westminster stand silhouetted against a wide sky, catching the sun and casting deep shadows across the huddle of old buildings and sailing ships along the bank.
The tide is out, and in the foreground people busy themselves along the shore and in the boats moored in the shallows. Beyond them, the vista opens out down the river towards Westminster Bridge.
The painting is one of a series of views of London from the river begun by Roberts in 1860. Roberts wrote that ‘I have long thought that the river Thames and London itself was as good, if not better, than many things we go to other countries to look for.’
The idea is said to have been suggested to him by J M W Turner. He sketched the new Palace of Westminster from at least eleven different positions in 1860 and three were selected to become finished paintings. This view is arguably the best of the three and it attracted much critical acclaim when exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1862.
The Art Journal commented: ‘In this arrangement, the Houses of Parliament rise over a breadth of houses, barges &c., but they are not exaggerated and the whole forms a combination as beautiful as could be obtained in any city of Europe.’
Editors' notes:
David Roberts RA (1796-1864)
Born in Scotland and apprenticed as a house painter, David Roberts moved to London in 1822 at the age of 26, working as a scene painter at Drury Lane. He moved on to paint architectural subjects and his skill was such that he became a Royal Academician in 1841 and was appointed as a commissioner for the Great Exhibition in 1851. He is perhaps best known for the paintings he did as a result of his extensive tours of Europe, Egypt and the Holy Land.
The Houses of Parliament from Millbank
Oil on canvas
61cm x 106cm
Signed and dated: ‘David Roberts. 1861’
Press enquiries:
Judith Holmes, Mairi Allan or Fay Ross-Magenty
tel: 020 7814 5502/5511/5503