Bamburgh Castle with a wreck being salvaged in the foreground

Although it has not been possible to identify the hand of the present watercolour the inscription, and the watercolour itself, reveal a strong influence of Thomas Miles Richardson, Senior (1784-1848) who was a keen painter of Scottish landscapes. The epic scale of the composition, the dramatic stormy skies and the figures in the foreground, hauling inland items saved from a wreckage below and framing the majestic castle beyond, are all reminiscent qualities of Richardson's own landscapes. The Anthony Salvin (1799-1881) referred to in the inscription was an architect born in Sunderland Bridge, Durham, who worked with Pugin and Repton, and worked on a number of noteable commissions including restoration at Alnwick Castle and the Tower of London.