Fort Townsend, St John's, Newfoundland, Canada

Category

Library Item

Item no

43428

Title

Fort Townsend, St John's, Newfoundland, Canada

Description

Image from James Grant's sketchbook.

Artist / maker

Grant, James

Date

1836

Type

Watercolour

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

James Grant's time living in Fort Townsend in Canada, from 1833 to 1839, had a lasting impact on his artistic imagination. The fort, based at St John's on the east coast island of Newfoundland, was the headquarters of the British Newfoundland garrison from 1779 until its abandonment in 1871. The fort was initially important in defending British interests in Canada against the French and for controlling local fishing. The quadrangle of garrison buildings was called Barrack Square, and this is where Grant's family lived. They no longer survive. Grant tried to pursue a military career himself once he was back in England, joining the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot, and although this career did not last, his memory of his childhood in Canada did.

Grant's earliest surviving artwork dates from his time in Canada. This watercolour image of the west side of Barrack Square was made when Grant was thirteen or fourteen years old, dated 1836. He may have drawn the scene from the balcony of the opposite building, looking down on his father's fellow soldiers. There are small figures of a regimental band in the foreground, and a soldier walking with a dog behind him on the right. Already we can see Grant's interest in architecture, even when he was limited to the military buildings of the fort for inspiration. Grant was beginning to refine his skills as an architectural artist, something he would perfect when he returned to Scotland and began to draw many of his homeland's historic buildings.

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Communication > Written > Flags

Military > Military facilities > Forts and fortifications

People > Military activities > Soldiers

Places > North America > Canada

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