Visualizing North Africa in Barkentin & Krall’s monument to James Augustus Grant

Abstract

This article correlates James Augustus Grant’s (1827–92) career as an explorer and botanist with the imagery in his memorial in the crypt of St Paul’s. It highlights the fact that Barkentin & Krall’s depiction of the Nile marks a shift in iconography away from pyramids and sphinxes that coincided with Britain’s territorial expansion in Egypt and Sudan and an associated rise in tourism and travel to the region. It also demonstrates how this particular landscape prioritizes Grant’s botanical discoveries over his military career. The article thus usefully expands notions of empire in the St Paul’s pantheon to include scientific discovery and exploration as well as emphasizing the importance of botanical life in sculpture studies.