Figures on a Track with the River Dee in the Distance, near Corwen, Clwyd, North Wales

As Official Admiralty artist, John Webber joined Captain Cook on his third voyage, illustrating the account of the expedition. He is also known to have travelled in Italy, Switzerland and Great Britain. Webber set off on his first Welsh tour in 1790, when he travelled from Llangollen following the course of the River Dee. Whereas a similar view of Corwen, held in the British Museum, concentrates on the cottages, the present watercolour shows an extensive landscape identifying the local topography with locational notes, typical of the artist.