453 - Thomas Shotter Boys, NWS,

Thomas Shotter Boys, NWS, British 1803-1874- First Tower, St. Helier, Jersey; pencil and watercolour on paper, inscribed and dated 'First Tower N. St Helier Jersey / 44' (middle left), 14.2 x 20.5 cm. Provenance: with Martyn Gregory, London [VG 836]. Literature: James Roundell, 'Thomas Shotter Boys', 1974, p.54 and footnote 13, chapter 5. Note: Shotter Boys worked as a watercolourist and engraver over the course of his career and was heavily influenced by Richard Parkes Bonington (1802-1828). First Tower has its roots in the late 18th century when a defensive tower was constructed as part of a coastal defense network against French invasions. This granite tower, built around 1778, was one of many Martello towers erected to protect the island’s coastline. Over time, the area surrounding the tower developed into a suburb named after this historical structure.