Bombay Photo Images[ Mumbai]: Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie Archive: Gallery: India-VIEWS OF BOMBAY 1780

James Wales (1747-1795) was a noted Scottish portrait painter and draughtsman. He was a contemporary of Lachlan Macquarie in Bombay in the last decade of the C18th.

In the period between Wales' arrival in Bombay in July 1791 and his tragic death in November 1795 he executed a number of important and evocative views of the settlement and its environs.

This selection of images has been made available (with permission) from the Peter Anker Collection held in the Kulturhistorisk Museum at the University of Oslo, Norway. They were originally published posthumously in 1800 in the work Twelve Views of the Island of Bombay and Its Vicinity: taken in the years 1791 and 1792. They provide a unique perspective on the landscape and daily life of Bombay in the last decade of the C18th.

View from Malabar Hill	View of Breach from Love Grove.
View of Breach Causeway	View From Belmont.
View From Belmont.	View from Sion Fort.
View from Sion Fort.	View from Island of Elephanta.
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James Wales (1747–1795) was a Scottish artist and antiquarian who arrived in Bombay in July 1791. He served as the primary portraitist for British officials and produced iconic, historically invaluable landscapes of the region, including the famous Twelve views of the island of Bombay and its vicinity.

Wales's time in India coincided with Lieutenant Lachlan Macquarie's early military service in the region. Before Macquarie became the fifth Governor of New South Wales, he was stationed in Bombay in the 1790s, during which time he likely crossed paths with Wales. Wales’s art—such as his drawings of the Elephanta Caves—documented a rapidly changing colonial and ancient landscape before the artist's unexpected death in 1795.

Further Exploration: Artist Biographies and Works

Explore Wales's comprehensive biography via the Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie Archive.
View original 18th-century sketches in the Peter Anker Collection.
Read about his antiquarian pursuits in the Loft Forum Video Lecture.

Would you like to know more about the specific portraits Wales painted of the Bombay elite, or the historical context of Macquarie's military career during the late 18th century?

Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie Archive: Gallery: India
James Wales (1747-1795) was a noted Scottish portrait painter and draughtsman. He was a contemporary of Lachlan Macquarie in Bomba...
Macquarie University
Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie Archive: James Wales
James Wales was born in Peterhead, Banffshire in 1747. At an early age he moved to Aberdeen and was educated at Marischal College.
Macquarie University
James Forbes' 1813 engraving of Bombay from Malabar Hills
11 Apr 2022 — James Wales was an artist and antiquarian who spent nearly four years in India. Wales came to India in the last decade of the eigh...
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Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie Archive: Gallery: India

Macquarie University

https://www.mq.edu.au › macquarie-archive › lema › in...

James Wales (1747-1795) was a noted Scottish portrait painter and draughtsman. He was a contemporary of Lachlan Macquarie in Bombay in the last decade of the ...Read more

1791 -BOMBAY-James Wales (1747-1795)Scottish portrait painter

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https://oldphotosbombay.blogspot.com › 2026/01 › 179...

James Wales (1747-1795) was a noted Scottish portrait painter and draughtsman. He was a contemporary of Lachlan Macquarie in Bombay in the last decade of the ...

(DOC) James Wales, artist (Peterhead 1747- Bombay 1795)

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https://www.academia.edu › James_Wales_artist_Peterh...

James Wales, Portrait Painter 1747-1795 Figure 1. Portrait of Francis ... A good deal is known about the life and work of the Scottish portrait painter ...Read more

Missing: ~~draughtsman.~~ ‎~~Lachlan~~

Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie Archive: James Wales

Macquarie University

https://www.mq.edu.au › lema › biographies › profiles

James Wales was born in Peterhead, Banffshire in 1747. At an early age he moved to Aberdeen and was educated at Marischal College.Read more

Missing: ~~contemporary~~ ‎| Show results with: contemporary

James Forbes' 1813 engraving of Bombay from Malabar Hills

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James Wales was an artist and antiquarian who spent nearly four years in India. Wales came to India in the last decade of the eighteenth century ...Read more

16TH CENTURY CHURCH OF ST BONAVENTURE

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https://oldphotosbombay.blogspot.com › 2008/07

13 Jul 2008 — James Wales (1747-1795) was a noted Scottish portrait painter and draughtsman. He was a contemporary of Lachlan Macquarie in Bombay in the last ...Read more

James Wales (1747-1795) was a noted Scottish portrait painter and draughtsman. He was a contemporary of Lachlan Macquarie in Bombay in the last decade of the C18th. from oldphotosbombay.blogspot.com

Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie Archive: Gallery: India

Macquarie University

https://www.mq.edu.au › gallery › wales › belmont1

James Wales prepared three views from Belmont or Mazagoan Hill. This Plate and its associated views are dominated by numerous spindley coconut trees in the ...Read more