A Front View of the Hall of Audience at the Palace of Yuen-Min-Yuen

  • About the work
    Location
    Country: China
    City: Beijing
    Place: British Embassy
  • About the artist
    William Alexander was born in Maidstone, Kent; the son of a coachbuilder. He entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1784 and may have trained under watercolourist Julius Caesar Ibbetson. He travelled to China as Junior Draughtsman in Lord Macartney's embassy of 1792 to 1794 and his drawings of the expedition were later engraved. In 1802 he became the first Master of Landscape Drawing at the Royal Military College in Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire. He held an interest in medieval architecture and travelled throughout Britain, drawing churches and monuments. His drawings of Egyptian antiquities in the British Museum were engraved and published between 1805 and 1807. In 1808, he was appointed the Museum’s Assistant Keeper of Prints and Drawings.
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  • Details
    Title
    A Front View of the Hall of Audience at the Palace of Yuen-Min-Yuen
    Date
    published 12 April 1796
    Medium
    Engraving
    Acquisition
    Purchased from Sotheby's, 29 May 1996
    GAC number
    16978