About this artwork
This watercolour shows Edinburgh's Grassmarket beneath the Castle Hill at the end of the day, as the setting sun casts long shadows and a red glow across the city. The square structure to the right is the Bowfoot Well, a simple ashlar box with a panelled concave pyramid top and a swagged urn finial. Dating from 1681, the Bowfoot Well was one of ten wells that supplied the city with water. It still stands today, but is no longer connected to the water supply. Just behind the well was the site of the public gallows. The whole of the south side of the Grassmarket was eventually pulled down and renovated by the end of the nineteenth century.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Henry G. Duguid (1805 - 1860) Scottish
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title:Edinburgh Castle and the Grassmarket from Candlemaker Row
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date created:1850
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materials:Pen, brown ink, watercolour and bodycolour over pencil on paper
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measurements:22.90 x 33.20 cm
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object type:
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credit line:William Finlay Watson Bequest 1881
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accession number:D 2447
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gallery:
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subject:
Henry G. Duguid
Henry G. Duguid
Duguid was primarily a painter of landscapes and buildings, working mainly in oil and watercolour. His dates of birth and death are unknown, but according to entries in the Edinburgh Annual Directory, he was a teacher of 'painting, drawing and pianoforte' at various addresses in the city between...