The Painting
A watercolour measuring 8½" x 12¼".
Signed Harry Morley and dated [19]10.
About the Artist
Harry Morley (1881-1943) was born in Leicester and educated at the Alderman Newton
School, Leicester and at the Leicester School of Art (Department of Architecture).
He entered the architectural practice of Professor Beresford Pite in 1901. In 1905
he visited Italy, having won travelling scholarships from both the Royal Institute
of British Architects and the Royal College of Art. As a result he decided to give
up architecture for painting. He spent the following year in Paris studying at Julien’s
atelier and under other masters. He was elected a Member of the Royal Watercolour
Society (in 1927), a Member of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers (1929), an Associate
of the Royal Academy of Arts (1936), a Member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters
(1936), and a Master of the Art Workers’ Guild (1936).
The Subject
Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial during construction. An early morning
scene with riders. Buckingham Palace, the principal London residence of the British
monarch, was originally built in the 18th century as a country house on the doorstep
of Westminster. It was transformed into a palace in the 19th century, first by the
architect John Nash in 1825-30, and then by Edward Blore in 1832-7 and 1846-50. The
view in the watercolour is from Green Park to the north-east, and largely depicts
Blore’s east front of 1846-50.
On the left is the Queen Victoria Memorial during its construction. The most elaborate
monument in London after the Albert Memorial, it was designed by Sir Thomas Brock
in 1904 and assembled in 1906-24. The circus around it was designed by Sir Aston
Webb, as were the architectural elements of the Memorial. The monument stands 82
ft high and was made of 2,300 tons of white Carrara marble. Michael Jenner states
in London Heritage (1988): ‘The Victoria Memorial… stands not only as a symbol of
British self-esteem but may also be regarded as the high-water mark of London’s self-confidence
and metropolitan aspirations.’
In 1913, three years after this watercolour was painted, Sir Aston Webb used the
surplus funds from the Victoria Memorial to reface the east front of Buckingham Palace
in the Louis XVI style.
