A British artist has captured 300 years of history in a new work – which took two years to complete.

Robin Reynolds’ pen and ink piece, New Orleans: Between Heaven And Hell, is almost two metres long.

It will be exhibited in New Orleans as part of events celebrating the city’s 300th anniversary.

The work captures the history of the US city, from the slave economy, fires, plagues, wars and Hurricane Katrina, as well as its music and culture.

Robin Reynolds and his work (Robin Reynolds)
Robin Reynolds and his work (Robin Reynolds)

Reynolds, 65, from Ruscombe, Berkshire, said that New Orleans was an “irresistible, but also overwhelming” subject.

“The history is almost impossibly rich in variety,” he said.

“But I was also curious about the recent past. People would say to me I wish I had gone to New Orleans before it was destroyed by the hurricane.

An extract from the work (Robin Reynolds)
An extract from the work (Robin Reynolds)

“It’s far from having been destroyed. Katrina is certainly a vivid and tragic chapter, but looking back, you see that resilience is part of the New Orleans story.”

The picture will be accompanied by an interactive guide showing more than 170 themes and events depicted in the work.

The pen, ink and watercolour will be shown at the exhibition Art Of The City: Postmodern To Post-Katrina, in May.

Robin’s panorama of London was displayed as part of the events marking the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death in 2016.