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拍品專文
The building which forms the core of Albany is Melbourne House, built by William Chambers in 1771-74 for the 1st Lord Melbourne. In 1791, he exchanged it for another house belonging to the Duke of York and Albany, but debt forced him to sell the house in 1802. It was bought by a property dealer who decided to create a series of apartments in the house and to build two ranges of apartments facing each other, linked by a long covered path called the Rope Walk. Work was completed by April 1803.
The present work appears to be a copy of a watercolour in the Sir John Soane Museum, London. The latter was made by one of Soane's assistants for use in his lectures and is significantly larger than the present drawing and without the trompe l'oeil scroll. The inclusion of such a device suggests that this drawing may have been intended as a presentation drawing.
We are grateful to Stephen Astley, Helen Dorey and Susan Palmer and the rest of the team at the Sir John Soane's Museum, London for all their assistance with the group of 18th and 19th century architectural drawings and designs.
The present work appears to be a copy of a watercolour in the Sir John Soane Museum, London. The latter was made by one of Soane's assistants for use in his lectures and is significantly larger than the present drawing and without the trompe l'oeil scroll. The inclusion of such a device suggests that this drawing may have been intended as a presentation drawing.
We are grateful to Stephen Astley, Helen Dorey and Susan Palmer and the rest of the team at the Sir John Soane's Museum, London for all their assistance with the group of 18th and 19th century architectural drawings and designs.