Paul Gauci

Kingston Harbor, Jamaica

Maker

Paul Gauci (British, 1834–1866)

Title

Kingston Harbor, Jamaica

Year

ca. 1839

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

watercolor, white heightening

Dimensions

32.1 x 46.5 cm (12 5/8 x 18 5/16 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Anonymous Gift

Object Number

70.118.38

Type

Publications

Exhibition History

Fantasy, Myth, Legend
Imagining the Past in Works on Paper since 1750
Dec 16, 2023 – Jun 02, 2024

Label copy

This ca. 1839 watercolor of Jamaica’s Kingston Harbor was painted during a moment of significant political change. In 1838, after several decades of fierce rebellion by enslaved Caribbean and West African people in the British-ruled colony, slavery was abolished in Jamaica. The artist’s focus in this image, however, is on the timelessness of the landscape and its inhabitants, rather than on any signs of recent events. By representing Kingston Harbor as a vast expanse of land, sparsely populated and with little sign of development, this painting works to justify the continuation of British colonial rule for audiences back in England, where it was published.

–SM

Selection II
British Watercolors and Drawings from the Museum's Collection
Apr 13, 1972 – May 14, 1972

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Paul Gauci (British, 1834–1866)
Kingston Harbor, Jamaica, ca. 1839
Watercolor, white heightening, and pencil on paper
32.1 x 46.5 cm (12 5/8 x 18 5/16 inches)
Anonymous Gift 70.118.38

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