Thomas H. Shepherd (fl. 1817–1840), Merchiston Castle, Edinburgh
Original 19th-century drawing of Merchiston Castle, the ancestral seat of the Napier family. Merchiston Castle is best known as the birthplace of John Napier (1550–1617), the famed Scottish mathematician who invented logarithms. Napier’s groundbreaking work, Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio(1614), revolutionized mathematics and astronomy, earning dedications from contemporaries such as Johannes Kepler.
This finely rendered drawing is attributed to Thomas H. Shepherd (active 1817–1840), an English topographical artist celebrated for his architectural views of Edinburgh and London. Executed with delicate wash and fine architectural detail, the work captures Merchiston Castle before its later Victorian alterations.
Presented in a gilt frame with archival matting, and retaining a gallery label from Wellesley Ashe Gallery, Dublin. An elegant historic drawing linking Scotland’s architectural and intellectual heritage.
Provenance: Wellesley Ashe Gallery, Dublin
Medium: Ink and wash drawing on paper
Thomas H. Shepherd (fl. 1817–1840), Merchiston Castle, Edinburgh
Original 19th-century drawing of Merchiston Castle, the ancestral seat of the Napier family. Merchiston Castle is best known as the birthplace of John Napier (1550–1617), the famed Scottish mathematician who invented logarithms. Napier’s groundbreaking work, Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio(1614), revolutionized mathematics and astronomy, earning dedications from contemporaries such as Johannes Kepler.
This finely rendered drawing is attributed to Thomas H. Shepherd (active 1817–1840), an English topographical artist celebrated for his architectural views of Edinburgh and London. Executed with delicate wash and fine architectural detail, the work captures Merchiston Castle before its later Victorian alterations.
Presented in a gilt frame with archival matting, and retaining a gallery label from Wellesley Ashe Gallery, Dublin. An elegant historic drawing linking Scotland’s architectural and intellectual heritage.
Provenance: Wellesley Ashe Gallery, Dublin
Medium: Ink and wash drawing on paper