St. John's Market, Liverpool

This watercolour is a good example of Austin's work. The influence of JMW Turner is particularly evident in the way Austin has captured the daylight streaming through the market place's windows. It is also a historical record of how St. John's Market looked at the time, before it was re-built in the 1970s. The scene captures the hustle and bustle of the market as it is set up for a day of trade. The inclusion of a black man in the scene also illustrates the growing black prescence within Liverpool in the early ninenteeth century due to the city's increasing trade throughout the world. A version of this composition with fewer figures was engraved by Kelsall and published in 'Lancashire Illustrated' in 1830.