Picturing the Grand Tour: Watercolor Sketches by an Anonymous Painter-Traveler

By the latter part of the 19th century, travel to the realms of Egypt and the Holy Land became a popular adventure for European and American tourists. Once reserved for only the very wealthy, improvements in transportation and well-established commercial tours made the trek affordable for even middle-class travelers.

A collection of 20 watercolor sketches that depict a number of points of interest along the popular tourist routes in the Near East, including areas of Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. These sketches include views of monuments and historic structures as well as scenes of local residents in the countryside. Though the artist is unknown, the visual record left behind provides a fascinating record of a land that captivated the collective imagination of determined tourists more than a century ago.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.