About this artwork

This painting shows the Nor' Loch, which covered the ground now occupied by Princes Street Gardens. At the time Nasmyth was painting the loch had already been drained so the artist intended a reminiscence or reconstruction of the original appearance of this site. The building of the Royal Institution on The Mound in the 1820s might very naturally have prompted the artist to think about the site in its original form.

Updated before 2020

see media
  • artist:
    Alexander Nasmyth (1758 - 1840) Scottish
  • title:
    Edinburgh Castle and the Nor' Loch
  • date created:
    1824
  • materials:
    Oil on canvas
  • measurements:
    45.40 x 61.00 cm; Framed: 83.20 x 68.60 x 6.00 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Presented by Mrs E Pringle 1948
  • accession number:
    NG 2104
  • gallery:
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Alexander Nasmyth

Alexander Nasmyth