In Passages from the Life of Charles Knight—the abridged, American version of Knight’s three-volume autobiography, Passages of a Working Life during Half a Century: with a Prelude of Early Reminisces—Knight describes his “awakening feeling for the preservation of our historical monuments,” intending to fire a similar appreciation in working clas

The constellation of ten images in Charles Knight’s volume on British history creates a rich set of perspectives on the historic site of Pevensey Castle. The picturesque aesthetic, first advocated by the Rev. William Gilpin, was often applied to medieval ruins.

Commenting on Romantic ruin painting, Louis Hawes states that medieval ruins were popular subjects for topographical artists and watercolorists. Indeed, the portfolios of Samuel Prout and Samuel and Nathaniel Buck—trained topographers of the Romantic era—all include medieval ruins.

Angelica Kauffman was commissioned to paint four allegorical figures representing the four components of painting: design, composition, invention, and color.