James Miller probably based this drawing on a smaller pencil sketch (on page 25 of the same volume) that shows an almost identical view of the weaver’s cottage without the figures. His watercolour was later reproduced as an illustration to Thomas Pennant’s Tour in Scotland and Voyage to the Hebrides (1774). Like his brother John Frederick, James followed the profession of their father, the German engraver Johann Sebastian Müller (1715-1792). His works, mainly views of London, were exhibited at the Society of Artist and the Royal Academy in the 1770s and 1780s. Before joining the expedition to Iceland, he had been employed by Banks as one of the botanical draughtsmen involved in the production of his Florilegium.
Ann Payne, former Curator of Manuscripts at the British Library, outlines how topographical views were often the result of artists touring in Britain and beyond.
Sileas Wood offers an introduction to the tours, travels, and topography of Thomas Pennant.
The members of Joseph Banks' voyage to Iceland in 1772 did not have to travel far to see the unusual. A humble dwelling on the Hebridean island of Islay provided a source of fascination for the expedition's artists, writes Nigel Leask.
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