Thomas Longcroft (fl. 1780-1811)
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Thomas Longcroft (fl. 1780-1811)

Sal Trees in the north of Rohilcund

Details
Thomas Longcroft (fl. 1780-1811)
Sal Trees in the north of Rohilcund
inscribed and dated 'Saul [sic] trees to the North of Rohilcund 1792.' (lower centre, in the margin) and further inscribed with indistinct initials (on the reverse)
pencil and grey wash within the artist's wash-line border, unframed
15¼ x 22¾ in. (38.7 x 57.7 cm.)
Provenance
January 1973, when purchased for the present collection.
Exhibited
India Observed, no. 27.
Special notice
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Lot Essay

Longcroft's date and place of birth are unknown. He was a friend, and possible pupil, of John Zoffany and they visited Lucknow together in 1784 - the year after Longcroft's arrival in India. He did not develop his career as a professional artist, though he continued to sketch; instead Longcroft purchased an estate in the agriculturally rich region of Koil near Aligarh, north-west of Lucknow, and became an indigo planter. His relative Thomas Twining (who later established the tea company) stayed with him in 1794 and gave a fond account of his eccentric host in his journal. Seven hundred drawings were auctioned upon Longcroft's death and many others entered the Twining Collection; six of the seven now in the India Office Library have this provenance.

Sal (Shorea robusta) is a handsome variety of tree that colonises those areas in which it is planted. The trees can reach thirty-five metres and their trunks are distinguished by deep verticle furrows that dent the smooth bark - perhaps discernable in the present drawing.

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