The Grandeur of the Gorges
About this artwork
Mennie published a handsome, limited edition book in 1926 called ‘The Grandeur of the Gorges’ which contained fifty photographs and photogravures. He took the pictures during two trips on the upper Yangtze River in China: the first on a steamer from Ichang to Chungking, during poor weather, and the second between Ichang and Wan Hsien. The book ends at Chungking, “the great metropolis of Western China”, 1,400 miles from the sea. His apocalyptic vision of the city is seen across the 700 yard stretch of turbulent water where the current was so strong it could take an hour to cross. Between the angry, storm filled sky, and the reflecting, threatening water, the scale of the city is compacted into a strange and ominous shape.
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title:The Grandeur of the Gorges
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accession number:PGP 402
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materials:Photogravures and hand-coloroured prints (gelatine or collodion mat)
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date created:1926
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measurements:Album: 32.30 x 26.30 x 3.50 cm
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credit line:Purchased 2006
Donald Mennie
Donald Mennie
Although born and brought up in Scotland, Mennie spent most of his life in China. According to Scotland’s 1891 census, the young Mennie was training as a chemist in Golspie, Sutherland. By 1914 he was working in China for the pharmacy firm A.S. Watson & Co. In 1934 the firm…