A View of the East Front of the Queen’s Palace, St. James’s Park

James Miller
T Miller

Engraving

published 1 March 1796
Start Zooming
  • About the work

    This view of Buckingham House, at this time known as the Queen’s Palace, was published in 1796 and shows several differences to an earlier print of the building of c.1710 by an anonymous artist. For example, statues which once adorned the top of the building have been removed, the wide steps which led to the main door are reduced in size, the elaborate fountain previously in the centre of the courtyard is now gone, the gateway which used to be in line with the main door is now located to the left of the building and the railings have been altered to incorporate gas lights. This work also includes new buildings around Buckingham House, constructed since the c.1710 depiction.

  • About the artist
    James Miller was the son of Johann Sebastian Müller (c.1715-c.1790), a watercolour painter of flowers and an engraver, born in Nuremberg. Müller moved to England in 1744, changing his name to John Miller. His son James also became a watercolour painter, but was best known for his views of buildings in London and landscapes made in the surrounding area. The figures in James Miller’s works were criticised as ‘rather out of scale and badly drawn’ in H. L. Mallalieu’s ‘Dictionary of British Watercolour Artists’ (1976). Miller exhibited at the Society of Artists of Great Britain from 1773 to 1791 and at the Royal Academy from 1781 to 1788.
  • Explore
  • Details
    Title
    A View of the East Front of the Queen’s Palace, St. James’s Park
    Date
    published 1 March 1796
    Medium
    Engraving
    Acquisition
    Presented by Sir Nigel Ronald, January 1954
    GAC number
    15805