Impressions of Oman

• Fascinating watercolour sketches of Oman and Persian Gulf in the 1840s and 1850s by the maritime surveyor Charles Golding Constable, second son of English painter John Constable.
• Authoritative text by leading historian of the region brings to life the 19th-century exploration of the Gulf by the British East India Company and includes biographical portrait of Charles Golding Constable.
• Includes a facsimile and full transcript of Constable’s commonplace book that he kept on his voyages.

Artists have long been drawn to Oman’s picturesque settlements and dramatic landscapes. During the 1840s and 1850s, Charles Golding Constable, second son of the British painter John Constable, made a series of watercolour sketches of coastal Oman and other locations in the Gulf in his role as a maritime surveyor for the East India Company.

This large-format volume reproduces 29 of his watercolours, along with his acclaimed 1860 chart of the Gulf, and a full facsimile and transcript of the commonplace book that he kept on his voyages. This collection is on long-term loan from Sheikh Fahad bin Abdullah bin Ali al-Araimi at the National Museum – Sultanate of Oman.

Impressions of Oman and the Gulf is written by J.E. Peterson, a leading historian of the region, and his fascinating introduction provides a biographical portrait of Constable and the historical context of his artworks.

Dr J.E. Peterson is a historian and political analyst specialising in the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf. He is the author of three books on Oman, with another forthcoming.

H.E. Jamal al-Moosawi is Secretary-General of The National Museum – Sultanate of Oman.