Tower at Pembroke Castle

c. 1770/1782

John Clerk, of Eldin

Artist, Scottish, 1728 - 1812

John Clerk, of Eldin

Attributed to

Media Options

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Artwork overview


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Campbell Fine Art, London); Donald Vogler, Portland, OR; gift to NGA, 2017.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1925

  • Lumsden, E.S. "The etchings of John Clerk of Eldin." Print Collector's Quarterly 12 (1925): no. 34

2012

  • Bertram, Geoffrey. The Etchings of John Clerk of Eldin. Taunton, 2012: no. 50

Inscriptions

on verso of mount in pen and ink: The story of Britain's disgrace / Thought nothing so sure / His pen to secure / As to give the Historien a Place / But art 'tis in vain / 'Tis the curse of his reign / That his projects should never succeed / Though he wrote not a line / Great Britain's decline / In the Author's example we read / His book well describes / How corruption and bribes / O'er threw the great Empire of Rome / and his writing dec... [This is a variation on a poem on Edward Gibbon that seems to have first appeared in The Gentleman's Magazine in 1781.]

Wikidata ID

Q77259204


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