Terms and conditions of use
James Watt's workshop
1886
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
40.5 × 51.0 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Messers George and Richard Tangye, 1889
Gallery location
19th Century European Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
James Watt (1736–1819) is principally known as the inventor of the locomotive engine. His workroom at Heatherfield Hall, near Birmingham was preserved intact until 1928, when it was transferred to the Science Museum, London. The Science Museum holds another, identical version of this painting.
Artwork Details
Inscription
inscribed in black paint l.r.: J. PRATT ~ / 1886
Accession Number
p.314.1-1
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Subjects (general)
Biographical Interiors Labour, Industry and Machinery
Subjects (specific)
busts (sculpture) inventors mechanical engineering model (concept) steam engines (engines) Watt, James workshops (work spaces)
Provenance
Probably painted for George Tangye (1835–1920) and Richard Tangye (1833–1906), Birmingham, 1886; by whom donated, through Thomas D. Gordon, to the NGV, 1889.
Frame
Interestingly the frame for James Watt’s workshop is a Watts style frame, named after the painter G. F. Watts.
This frame could have been made either in London prior to acquisition or Melbourne after arriving at the NGV in 1889.
The mitred corners are not typical for this frame form and may suggest local manufacture.
Frame Details
Framemaker
Unknown - 19th century
Date
c.1886
Materials
timber, composition, gold leaf