Lady Rowe, standing small full length on a terrace, a moonlit Jamaican landscape beyond

Belisario's Sketches of Character, In Illustration of the Habits, Occupation, and Costume of the Negro Population, in the Island of Jamaica, including 12 plates issued in 3 parts from 1837-38, noted the artist as a resident of No 21 King-Street, Kingston, Jamaica. Although he began with 165 subscribers, support for the second and third parts diminished, suggesting he had difficulty finding patrons in the small community (for which see Abbey Travel, no.685). The present watercolour and another painted for Chief Justice Kelly ('Sugar Works at Kelly's -- St Catherine Parish, Jamaica', Christie's, 24 May 1990, lot 28, allegedly one of a series of properties of Lord Chief Justice Kelly on the island painted by Belisario) indicate that his work found some favour with the local colonial administrators.