Albert
Artist
James McBey
(Newburgh, Scotland, 1883 - 1959)
Date1917
Mediumpen, ink and watercolour on paper
ClassificationsMcBey
DimensionsOverall: Height: 37.6 cm, Width: 22.8 cm
Frame: Height: 55.3 cm, Width: 39.9 cm
Frame: Height: 55.3 cm, Width: 39.9 cm
AcquisitionPresented in 1960 by Mrs Marguerite McBey.
Copyright© Aberdeen City Council (McBey Collection)
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDAG001737
About MeIn February 1917, McBey was granted special leave to travel to the Somme. Arriving at Albert on 15th February, he recorded in his diary, "In morning sketched tower of cathedral. ...Then sketched market place." In the afternoon he sketched the same tower from a tumbledown house. These drawings were the source for his etching of Albert which features the market-place dominated by the ruins of the cathedral with the statue of the Virgin and Child hanging precariously from the tower.
