MAJOR-GENERAL FREDERICK STAFFORD HEWETT (1826-1880)
ROYAL HOTEL, BOMBAY
inscribed, titled and dated From my window / Room No4: Royal Hotel Bombay / March 18 1868 lower right
watercolour
image: 19.5 x 12.5cm; 7 ¾ x 5in
framed: 36 x 28.5cm; 14 x 11 1/4in

Stafford Hewett, a Major-General in the British Army in India serving in the Bombay Presidency, was an inveterate chronicler of local Indian life and culture on his travels throughout the continent. His plentiful sketches and watercolours combine a delightful humour with a pleasing lightness of touch and show a particular sensitivity towards the natural world. His subject matter ranged from extraordinarily precise topographical accuracy, consistent with recording military positions, to the purely imaginary and fantastic which offer a rye commentary on life around him. The present work together with the following lot capture with delightful delicacey views from his hotel window whilst staying in Bombay and Ceylon.