Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B2001.2.235
Gallery Label:
Augustus Wall Callcott’s dramatic rendering of Windsor Castle—at the time, the residence of an elderly and infirm King George III—celebrates the ancient construction that Britain’s rulers called home. A famed landscape painter, Callcott depicted the looming, silhouetted Gothic palace, built originally in the eleventh century, from the bucolic pastures of Eton, just across the river Thames. Here, dark clouds part, casting the pastures and castle alike in the golden glow of sunlight. In this way, Callcott, who was knighted in later years, uses symbolism to laud the monarchy: Windsor Castle presides over the romantic British countryside. Gallery label for Art in Focus: The British Castle - A Symbol in Stone (Yale Center for British Art, 2017-04-07 - 2017-08-06)
