Breakfast Equipage set out for the Passengers of the Eliza

Description

Watercolor on paper drawing of "Breakfast Equipage set out for the Passengers of the Eliza", March 1796, from the Latrobe Sketchbooks, by Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Following the death of his first wife Lydia Sellon Latrobe (1760-1793), Benjamin suffered a breakdown and decided to emigrate from Great Britain to the United States. He boarded the sailing ship "Eliza" and spent four months at sea, before arriving in Norfolk, Virginia in mid-March 1796. This drawing features a trompe l'oeil showing tabletops with quills, playing cards, printing matter and more.