Places in Europe. Album of watercolours.

2 volumes (72 and 81 leaves) : watercolours

Wellcome Collection 28596i

The name of Hawes Craven appears on a sheet of paper found inside volume 2 and related to it. Henry Hawes Craven Green (b. Leeds, 1837; d. London 1910), known as Hawes Craven, was a prominent scenery painter for theatres in Dublin and London: on his death the Manchester guardian described him as "the greatest scene-painter" (27 July 1910) (Oxford dictionary of national biography). Whether he drew these watercolours from nature, or copied them from other watercolours, or assembled the volumes or owned them, is yet to be established. Given that some of them bear dates from before he was born (e.g. "1822" on vol. B fols 63v and 69r, "1825" on vol. B fols 60v and 62v) or too early for him to be the artist (1846 on vol. A fols. 37v-38r etc.; 1842 on vol. B fols 61r and 63v), he cannot have painted all of them. He may have received the watercolours from the original traveller and artist who is yet to be identified