C.A. Collis Happy Valley from Rusthall Common, Tunbridge Wells, Kent

C.A. Collis: Victorian Tour of Britain

This work forms part of a charming collection representing the prolific travel sketches of a Victorian lady, spanning a period of over fifty years. C.A. Collis is believed to be Clara Maria Augusta Jane Collis (c.1826–1905), eldest daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Collis (1784–1849), who served—and was severely wounded—at the Battle of Talavera in Spain, during the Peninsula War. The Collis family lived at Upcott House near Taunton in Somerset, then, on Charles Collis's death, moved to nearby Netherclay House. The collection includes drawings of these family homes, along with numerous landscape watercolours recording Clara's extensive British tours. The works are predominantly in sepia and grisaille watercolour, and cover landscapes and landmarks of the South West—around Somerset, Devon and Cornwall—as well as further afield around Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Sussex, Wales and Ireland. There are also a small number of works by Clara's sister, Sarianne Lucas Collis.