Artwork
Cemetery Smyrna
Cemetery Smyrna is a watercolor work on paper by the Impressionist artist David Hall McKewan. It dates from 1858 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
David Hall McKewan’s watercolour *Cemetery Smyrna* was executed during his 1858–59 journey to the Ottoman port of Smyrna. The composition records a tranquil burial ground framed by slender cypress trees, a modest structure, and rolling hills beneath a muted sky.
Subject & Meaning
The scene captures a modest cemetery where the verticality of the cypresses contrasts with the uneven terrain and scattered gravestones, suggesting a contemplative space that reflects the region’s funerary customs and the quiet passage of time.
Technique & Style
McKewan employs swift, loose brushwork for the trees, creating a luminous, almost ethereal effect. The handling of light is uneven, with patches of heightened brightness that give the landscape a subtle atmospheric depth.
History & Provenance
After being shown at the New Watercolour Society in 1860, the work entered private hands before being purchased from P. Heathcote‑Williams in 1969. A related aqueduct view by McKewan is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum, documenting his broader interest in the area.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Tombstones, Bathampton Cemetary, Bath
A group of houses, a minaret and cypress trees
Choropiskopos, June 16th & 17th 1856
Cimitir turcesc
St. Just in Roseland; Churchyard
Addoldy-y-Bedyddwyr, Glyndyfrdwy, Merionethshire
Stamboul from the Cemetery of Pera. Constantinople
Chorepiskopi
Mountains of Nicaea from Broussa
A Woody Bit, North Wales