Aqueduct over the Bath & Westbury Railway

Edwin Frederick Holt

Oil on canvas

1875
  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: Government Art Collection

    In this tranquil scene a horse pulls a barge, steered by a woman, through an aqueduct. Behind the barge, a smaller boat is towed by another horse. On the right hand side of the aqueduct a boy enjoys the view, while to the left two cows are at the water’s edge.

    The Bath and Westbury Railway ran between the towns of Bath in Avon and Westbury in Wiltshire. This aqueduct may well form part of the Avon and Kennet Canal which was constructed in the late 18th century to link the Rivers Thames and Avon, providing a cheap transport link between London and Bath. The canal was heavily used for goods transport until the Great Western Railway was completed in 1841.

  • About the artist
    Little is known of the historical and genre painter Edwin Frederick Holt. He exhibited his work in London from 1850 to 1865, showing seven works at the Royal Academy, twelve at the British Institution and 36 at the Royal Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street. Holt lived at over ten separate addresses during the 15 years that he was exhibiting in London, most of which were in Camden Town. In 1857, his wife exhibited ‘A Study from Nature’ at The Royal Society of British Artists.
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  • Details
    Title
    Aqueduct over the Bath & Westbury Railway
    Date
    1875
    Medium
    Oil on canvas
    Dimensions
    height: 40.00 cm, width: 59.50 cm
    Acquisition
    Purchased from the Piccadilly Gallery, June 1959
    Inscription
    br: E F Holt 1875
    GAC number
    4943