Lot Essay
Colonel Robert Smith was born in Bideford, Devon. He went to India in 1805 where he joined the Bengal Engineers. Like all his army contemporaries, he learnt to draw while he was a cadet at the East India Company's College in Marlow. In Calcutta he met the well-known artist George Chinnery who stimulated his interest in painting and was to prove an important influence. During his posting as Garrison Engineer in Delhi from 1822-1830, his duties included the restoration of the Mughal and other monuments in the city. He retired to England in 1833. He painted all his life for his own amusement and never exhibited. Pictures by the artist can be found in the Yale Centre for British Art, Newhaven; The India Ofice Library, London and The Victoria Memorial Museum, Calcutta.
This picture shows a procession into the Fort of Bharatpur, some time after it was taken in January 1826 by the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Combermere and an army of twenty thousand men after the state had been thrown into confusion by a disputed succession to the throne. Smith had been brought in from Delhi to help lay gigantic mines to breach the massive walls of the fortress which led to its capture. The capturing of the impregnable fortress was seen as a major victory for the British, and Smith was widely praised for the part he played. In the course of action, Smith was wounded and during convalescence had time to paint. Several paintings celebrating the capture of Bharatpur, including one by Smith, are known.
The Indian gun (on the left) fascinated military experts because of its size and construction. It was later given to the Tower of London. A picture of it by Smith is now in the Victoria Memorial Museum in Calcutta.
We are grateful to Raymond Head for his help in preparing this catalogue entry.
This picture shows a procession into the Fort of Bharatpur, some time after it was taken in January 1826 by the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Combermere and an army of twenty thousand men after the state had been thrown into confusion by a disputed succession to the throne. Smith had been brought in from Delhi to help lay gigantic mines to breach the massive walls of the fortress which led to its capture. The capturing of the impregnable fortress was seen as a major victory for the British, and Smith was widely praised for the part he played. In the course of action, Smith was wounded and during convalescence had time to paint. Several paintings celebrating the capture of Bharatpur, including one by Smith, are known.
The Indian gun (on the left) fascinated military experts because of its size and construction. It was later given to the Tower of London. A picture of it by Smith is now in the Victoria Memorial Museum in Calcutta.
We are grateful to Raymond Head for his help in preparing this catalogue entry.