DAVID ROBERTS, R.A. (EDINBURGH 1796-1864 LONDON)

In September 1851 Roberts embarked on a tour of Italy with his friend, Edmund Cotterell. They travelled first to Brussels, and thence through Germany to Switzerland. The Alps made a particular impression, and they lingered in Basle and Lucerne where Roberts made a number of sketches. A watercolour of Lucerne with the mountains beyond is inscribed and dated 12 September 1851 (see Helen Guiterman and Briony Llewellyn, David Roberts, 1986, p. 124, no. 202.)

Born in 1821, Christine was David Roberts's only child. The artist gave her many of his paintings, often on her birthday. Other works in her collection included Gibralatar from Ronda, 1853, The Sea of Galilee, 1850, and SS. Giovanni e Paolo, Venice, 1861.