This dissertation initially attempts a brief history of the landscape tradition in the West with the emphasis on developments in nineteenth-century French landscape painting. A collection of these paintings in the Tatham Art Gallery is then closely examined in the light of the socio-political circumstances that influenced their origins and acquisition. Finally a full catalogue of the paintings is presented with digital images and documentation. / Thesis (M.A.F.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.