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    "Byrne" Is linked to these Works of Art
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    Carnarvon Castle, the Birthplace of Edward II, in North Wales

    Carnarvon Castle, the Birthplace of Edward II, in North Wales
    Carnarvon Castle, the Birthplace of Edward II, in North Wales
    Carnarvon Castle, the Birthplace of Edward II, in North Wales
    The Trustees of the British Museum
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    Artist
    William Byrne (1743-1805) after Wilson
    Title
    Carnarvon Castle, the Birthplace of Edward II, in North Wales
    Date
    Published 17 July 1775
    Medium
    Etching and engraving
    Dimensions
    Metric: Plate: 404 x 537 mm
    Imperial: Plate: 15 7/8 x 21 1/8 in.
    Collection
    The British Museum. To license image, click here
    Accession Number
    1917,1208.3407
    Wilson Online Reference
    E27C
    Description
    View of a Norman castle with angled towers in the walls on the right, overlooking a river, with wooded banks opposite on the left and fields in the distance. On the far side of a broad stretch of water, a woman is milking a cow and two other figures are resting on the bank in the foreground.
    Provenance
    1917 donated by Nan Ino Cooper, Baroness Lucas of Crudwell and Lady Dingwall (1880-1958) of Wrest Park, Bedfordshire among 4651 prints and drawings given to the British Museum in memory of her brother, Auberon Thomas Herbert, 9th Baron Lucas (1876-1916).
    Signature/inscription
    Lettered below the image in English and French, production detail: 'Richd. Wilson pinxt', 'Willm. Byrne sculpt' and publication line: 'Published July 17th. 1775 by John Boydell, Engraver in Cheapside, London'
    Subject
    Caernarvon Castle is located on the northern banks of the River Seiont on the Caernarvonshire coast in North Wales, across the Menai Straits from the Island of Anglesey. Its massive ruins offered the traveller in search of the picturesque an impressive reminder of Britain's heroic past. The castle was begun by Edward I in 1284 and his son Edward, the first English Prince of Wales, was born in the great Eagle Tower on 25 April that year.
    Versions
    See 'Links' tab.
    Other impressions are at The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth / Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru (4609344 & PE194/b)
    Related Paintings
    P12 Caernarvon Castle, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
    P12A Caernarvon Castle, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven
    P12C Caernarvon Castle with Anglesea in the Distance, Private Collection
    P12D Caernarvon Castle, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
    Critical commentary
    This print is one of the set, Six Views in North and South Wales, all after Wilson, published by John Boydell in 1775.
    Bibliography
    R. Gough, Anecdotes of British Topography, London 1768, p. 603; Edwards 1808, p. 88
    More Information
    An impression belonged to William Lock of Norbury and featured in his sale, Sotheby's London 3-7 May 1821 (619).

    Work of Art

    Versions

    • William Byrne (1743-1805)after Wilson, Carnarvon Castle, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven
    • William Byrne (1743-1805)after Wilson, Prospect of Caernarfon Castle from the North, The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth / Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru
    • William Byrne (1743-1805)after Wilson, Caernarvon Castle, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
    • William Byrne (1743-1805)after Wilson, Carnarvon Castle, The British Museum

    Paintings

    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782), Caernarvon Castle, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782), Caernarvon Castle, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven
    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782), Caernarvon Castle with Anglesea in the Distance, Private Collection
    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782), Caernarvon Castle, National Museum Wales, Cardiff

    Biographies

    • William Byrne (1743-1805)
    • John Boydell (1720-1804)

    Documents

    • Edward Edwards, Anecdotes of Painters who have resided or been born in England; with critical Remarks on their Productions
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