Lot Essay
Birket Foster sailed for Gibraltar in the company of his son William, and Robert Dudley, a friend and fellow artist, on 2 April 1883. They were due to continue to Tangier, but were delayed in the colony for over a week owing to bad weather, their stay being made bearable by the hospitality of the governor, Sir John Adye. On their return from Africa the party travelled to Cadiz, Seville and Granada, Cordoba, Madrid, Toledo, Avila and Burgos, and then home via St. Jean de Luz and Bordeaux. There exists a note in Birket Foster's hand listing twenty three finished watercolours from this trip, priced at a total of 1,090, with individual examples priced between 35 and 60.