“A North View of Fort Frederick” by Thomas Davies

A North View of Fort Frederick built by order of Hon. Col. Robert Monckton on the entrance of the St. John River in the Bay of Fundy, 1758 by Lt Thomas Davies National Gallery of Canada (no 6269)

“A North View of Fort Frederick” by Thomas Davies has the full title of “A North View of Fort Frederick Built by Order of the Honourable Colonel Robert Monckton, on the Entrance of the St. John’s River in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia”. Most of Thomas Davies’s watercolors had similar long descriptive titles.

In this watercolor, we can see Fort Frederick, which was a British fort in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. It was built during the St. John River Campaign of the French and Indian War. Establishing Fort Frederick allowed the British to cut off the communications and supplies to the villages on the St. John River. Davies’ style combines the precision of a military artist’s accuracy with the skills of naturalists in capturing the natural environment.

Thomas Davies was a British Army officer, artist, and naturalist. He studied drawing and recorded military operations in water-colors during several military campaigns in North America. He later became a noted artist and naturalist.

A North View of Fort Frederick

Title: A North View of Fort Frederick Built by Order of the Honourable Colonel Robert Monckton, on the Entrance of the St. John’s River in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia
Artist: Thomas Davies
Year: 1758
Medium: watercolor, pen and black ink on laid paper
Dimensions: 37.7 x 53.6 cm
Museum: National Gallery of Canada