Panvell Bunder

Sir Charles Harcourt Chambers (1789-1828) was appointed Puisne Judge of the new Supreme Court, Bombay in 1823. He was knighted by George III and became acting Chief Justice of Bombay in August 1828, two months before his death. In his spare time, Chambers was an accomplished amateur watercolour painter of landscapes and riverscapes and journeyed regularly across the harbour to Panvel on the mainland. He also explored the nearby region of the Konkan and Western Ghats, and his pictures were clearly executed on the spot as he travelled. He repeatedly painted the forts, hills and pinnacles, often including trees and vegetation to enhance his compositions. He had considerable skill in capturing atmospheric effects, and his scenes have a distinct sense of reality.