Two versions of Bishop Lloyd’s Palace on Watergate Street. On the left George Cuitt and on the right Louise Rayner

Lower Bridge Street looking south. Louise Rayner

There are two exhibitions running concurrently in the Grosvenor Museum in Chester, both showing highly individual interpretations of Chester’s architecture.  The first, The Romance of Ruins – the Etchings of George Cuitt (Gallery 1 on the ground floor, accessible to wheelchair users) runs until 12 January 2025.  The second, Louise Rayner: Victorian Watercolours (Gallery 2, upstairs with no lift) runs until 9 February 2025. Both came from artistic families.  Cuitt (1779-1854) was the only son of painter George Cuit the Elder, becoming an art teacher in Chester, and Rayner’s (1832-1924) parents and several of her siblings were also artists. Cuitt added a second “t” to his surname to distinguish himself from his father.  If you visit both exhibitions at the same time, the most obvious contrast is that George Cuitt’s etchings are monochrome, whereas Louse Rayner’s watercolours are characterized by vivid colours, but in spite of the time differences between their work, and the chronological distance between them, there are a lot of similarities in their perceptions of Chester.  Both artists focus on detail, and both lean towards a picturesque and somewhat romanticized view of Chester, populated not merely by buildings but by a myriad of people and livestock.  Cuitt’s work is by its nature more linear and less impressionistic than Rayner’s, but both highlight key details of individual buildings, capturing much of the minutiae that makes Chester’s architecture so engaging, and the skills demonstrated by both are well-honed.  Rayner makes particularly good use of perspective to draw her viewers into her paintings.  Although this was not always a feature of Cuitt’s work, a particularly nice view of the cathedral cloister uses the same technique.

The Cloisters, Chester Cathedral, 1811. George Cuitt

Quite apart from their value as artistic interpretations of Chester, both the Cuitt and Rayner exhibitions provide insights into architectural details that no longer survive, lending themselves to historical research as well as art appreciation.  From Cuitt’s portfolio, an 1827 view through a ruined arch towards Chester Castle captures a surviving in situ feature of the medieval St Mary’s Benedictine Nunnery.  It is entitled “Chester Castle from the Nun’s Gardens,” (shown below)  It is also a nice juxtaposition of two contrasting architectural styles, and two equally contrasting states of preservation.  The arch has been moved to Grosvenor Park, where it is accompanied by other orphaned pieces of gothic architecture.  Another of his etchings shows the cloisters before the windows were added.  Louise Rayner’s corpus has provide a great many examples of buildings that are no longer standing, but I found the one showing St Werburgh’s Mount of particular interest, shown below, where St Werburgh Row, is now located.  Her painting of Lower Bridge Street is an eye opener, shown above, looking towards the Dee with some lovely buildings now demolished and replaced by a 1960s monstrosity, and the Harvie’s almshouses, also below, must have been a very attractive feature.

St Werburgh’s Mount, c.1873. Louise Rayner

Both exhibitions provide full information about both artists, providing insights into the influences acting on their work and how their careers developed.  The pictures displayed have been chosen to highlight not only how they each interpreted Chester but how their skills have been applied to such a rich subject matter.

Find details about opening hours and other visiting details on the Grosvenor Museum website.

View from St Mary’s Nunnery arch to Chester Castle, 1827. George Cuitt

Harvie’s Almshouses, Duke Street. Built 1692, demolished 1892

St Michael’s Church Porch, 1809. George Cuitt

The King Charles Tower and the Shropshire Union Canal. Louise Rayner