A pale watercolour landscape of Kew with the tall Great Pagoda rising above trees, an ornate building at left, a distant mosque, and small figures walking through the royal garden.

1763 · Watercolour

View of the Wilderness at Kew

William Marlow; architecture by Sir William Chambers

Why it matters

The drawing places Chambers’s Great Pagoda within a royal collection of global styles. It shows chinoiserie becoming spatial and experiential while cultural difference is arranged as picturesque possession.

Publication
Plans, Elevations, Sections and Perspective Views of the Gardens and Buildings at Kew
Holding institution
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Shelfmark
25.19.43
Rights
Public domain; released through The Met Open Access programme

Marlow, William, after designs by Sir William Chambers. View of the Wilderness at Kew, 1763. Watercolour. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 25.19.43.