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Distant View of St Lo

Artist: Manson, George · 1850-1876

Distant View of St Lo

This watercolour probably dates to 1875 when according to his biographer J M Gray (George Manson and His Works, privately printed, Edinburgh, 1880)…

This watercolour probably dates to 1875 when according to his biographer J M Gray (George Manson and His Works, privately printed, Edinburgh, 1880) Manson visited Paris and St Lo in january 1875 in company with Mr P.W.Adam. Gray continues; "At St Lo he painted the distant view of the city which we have photographed, a work never quite finished, for while sketching a snow scene he caught cold, and was prostrated fro weeks by a severe attack of inflammation of the lungs." Plate 14 is a sepia photograph of the oil painting which compositionally matches the present watercolour exactly. The entry for Manson in the 'Dictionary of Scottish Art & Architecture' (McEwan, Peter, 2004) restates this incident on page 370 'While at St Lo he painted a distant view of the city but this was never finished for while working in the snow he contracted pneumonia'.