Highlights from the print collection
An introduction to the print collection of the Royal Collection
The Cascade at Virginia Water, Windsor Great Park (proof state),
c.1754RCIN 917947
After leading the suppression of the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745–6, William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland was appointed Ranger of Windsor Great Park. He began a programme of landscaping in the Park, and commissioned Thomas Sandby, who had worked as a surveyor for the Duke in Scotland, to design a set of prints of the remodelled estate. This is a unique impression of a print (etched by Thomas's younger brother Paul) that was omitted from the Eight Views of Windsor Great Park published in 1754. In addition to the prominent central tree, Thomas or Paul washed over many areas in the landscape and sky to indicate further work in the plate.