The Romans cause a Wall to be built for the Protection of the South (One of a series of eight oil paintings illustrating the history of the English Border)
William Bell Scott (Edinburgh 1811 - Penkill Castle 1890)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1857 (signed and dated)
Materials
Oil paint, canvas
Measurements
1854 x 1854 mm (73 x 73 in)
Place of origin
Wallington
Order this imageCollection
Wallington, Northumberland
NT 584365
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, The Romans cause a Wall to be built for the Protection of the South, by William Bell Scott (Edinburgh 1811 - Penkill Castle 1890), signed and dated, bottom right: W B Scott Jan to June 1857. The background of the picture represents Crag Lough, a high basalt cliff shown with the wall stretching off into the distance along its ridge. The wall is being constructed by a team of men drawn from all areas of the Roman Empire. In the foreground a centurion confronts two workers who have stopped to boil water and are trying to conceal a game of dice. Some of the figures are portraits of recognisable local personalities; one of the soldiers on the rampart is Dr. Bruce, a great authority on the Wall, and the centurion is John Clayton who purchased large tracts to protect them from being torn down for building stone during the 19th Century. One of a series of eight oil paintings illustrating the history of the English Border painted between 1856 and 1861.
Provenance
Commissioned in 1855 by Sir Walter Trevelyan to decorate the courtyard at Wallington; began in 1857 and the series was exhibited at regular intervals at the Literary Society in Newcastle and completed in 1861 - the scheme of decoration was finished in 1863/64 when the spandrels high up near the vault were decorated with a progression of eighteen scenes from the Ballad of Chevy Chase, and the lower pilasters painted with local flora by other artists including Ruskin, Arthur Hughes, Pauline, Lady Trevelyan (1816-1866), as well as the portrait medallions, in the lower spandrels and portrait heads; given with the property to The National Trust in 1941 by Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan, 3rd Bt (1870 – 1958)
Credit line
Wallington, The Trevelyan Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
W B Scott Jan to June 1857 (signed and dated)
Makers and roles
William Bell Scott (Edinburgh 1811 - Penkill Castle 1890), artist