Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1976.7.139
Gallery Label:
In 'Upnor Castle, Kent', Henry Pether (possibly the son of Sebastian Pether, whose 'Moonlight River Scene' also appears in this exhibition) paints a castle that once served as an Elizabethan artillery fort. Originally built to protect the dockyard and ships of the Royal Navy, it later became a naval ammunition depot for gunpowder, ammunition, and cannons. Pether’s depiction captures the passage of time and the changing function of the castle: he does not allude to the strategic role that Upnor Castle once played. Instead, the artist places the castle within an idyllic scene of daily life. Two men dock a boat while puffs of smoke drift out of a chimney on the right. The castle recedes into a moonlit background, a trait for which Pether was well known. Gallery label for Art in Focus: The British Castle - A Symbol in Stone (Yale Center for British Art, 2017-04-07 - 2017-08-06)
