Claude H. Rowbotham, Menaggio, Lago di Como

Claude Hamilton Rowbotham (1864-1949) came from a family of English watercolour painters; his father was the watercolourist Thomas Charles Rowbotham. He settled in Cornwall in 1902 and devised his own way of printing aquatints in colour from a single plate. He used it for towns, lakes and coasts, and his will ordered the plates destroyed.

Menaggio lies on the western shore of Lake Como. A terrace of tiled houses steps down to a stone landing, where small figures gather at the water's edge. Sailing boats cross the lake below the mountains, and a high summer sky fills the upper half of the plate.

Original colour aquatint, signed in pencil ‘Claude H. Rowbotham’ in the lower margin. The printed label on the reverse reads ‘Menaggio, Lago Di Como (Italy). Original Aquatint by Claude H. Rowbotham. Edition strictly limited to 100 signed artist's proofs.’ A second label is that of Horace H. Joyce, picture frame maker and artists' colourman, Fine Art Depot, 46 High Street, Chatham. Window-mounted and framed in a textured gilt moulding.