Impressions of Oman & the Gulf

Artists have long been drawn to Oman’s picturesque settlements and dramatic landscapes. During the 1840s and 1850s, Charles Golding Constable, second son of the British painter John Constable, made a series of watercolour sketches of coastal Oman and other locations in the Gulf in his role as a maritime surveyor for the East India Company.

This large-format volume reproduces 29 of his watercolours, along with his acclaimed 1860 chart of the Gulf, and a full facsimile and transcript of the commonplace book that he kept on his voyages. This collection is on long-term loan from Sheikh Fahad bin Abdullah bin Ali al-Araimi at the National Museum – Sultanate of Oman.

Impressions of Oman & the Gulf is written by J.E. Peterson, a leading historian of the region, and his fascinating introduction provides a biographical portrait of Constable and the historical context of his artworks.