Watercolour. 38 by 28 in.
In “Relics of the Hon. East India Company,” illustrations by W.
Griggs, letterpress by Sir George Birdwood and W. Foster, a plate
from this watercolour is described as follows: “The House occupied
by the East India Company in Leadenhall Street, as refaced in 1726.
From a coloured drawing by T. Malton, March 1800.”
The East India House, on the south side of Leadenhall Street, is shown
on spectator’s right; crowds on the pavement, among them Indians; a
coach in the roadway. Opposite are old buildings which escaped the
Great Fire.
As already implied by the titles, there were two Thomas Maltons,
father and son, and it is sometimes difficult to distinguish their
work. The father (1726-1801) exhibited London views at the Royal
Academy in 1772 and 1774. He taught perspective. His watercolours, as
a rule, were what were known as “tinted drawings,” begun in Indian
ink. The son (1748-1804) received a premium at the Royal Society of
Arts in 1774, and a gold medal at the Royal Academy in 1782. In 1792
he published “A Picturesque Tour through the Cities of London and
Westminster containing a hundred aquatints.” He also exhibited London
views at the Royal Academy.
By T. MALTON the Younger (1748-1804).
_Lent by the Secretary of State for India._