FRANÇOIS VIVARES, British 1709 - 1780;
after THOMAS SMITH OF DERBY, British, died 1767
A View of Hopping Mill Ware
on the River Derwent
engraving, 1745
Gift of Ann Fishburne Duthie, 2001.20.1

The inscription at the bottom indicates that this image was created specifically for the Duke of Devonshire to show his property. During the eighteenth century, the English began to think of the land not just as a means for production but also as a symbol of culture and national beauty. Landowners were proud of what they possessed and therefore wanted to capture their land in images like this one.

However, portrait landscapes are not simply for the patron's aesthetic pleasure but are also status markers. The landscape of property denoted privilege, in a time when large landowners were becoming richer and small ones poorer. A series of Enclosure acts passed by the British parliament divided and distributed land to landowners that was considered useless for agriculture. However, larger landowners were able to profit from this "useless" land, and to buy out smaller landowners who did not have similar agricultural gains. The Acts thus created a hierarchy among landowners.