Greenwich Hospital (recto); Study of a Building (verso) ca. 1831 David Cox British This watercolor sketch brims with useful information: near the top of the sheet, between the paired columns, touches of blue (and, elsewhere, the word "blue") indicate the color of the sky; at the upper right, a triangle of brown wash suggests a pediment; in the center, swift strokes of black, red, and blue describe figures dressed in naval uniform. Cox began his career as a theatrical scene painter and rose to become one of the leading watercolor artists of the nineteenth century. He first exhibited views of Greenwich in the early 1820s, but the bold handling of the present sketch suggests a later date. Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor designed Greenwich Hospital as a retirement home for saliors of the British Royal Navy, and it operated between 1692 and 1869.. Greenwich Hospital (recto); Study of a Building (verso) 341088