Early last year I reviewed “From Cairo to Beirut” — an illustrated travel memoir by writer and sketcher Sunil Shinde, who retraced the sojourn of early 19th century Scottish artist David Roberts through the Middle East.

I had probably seen Roberts’ work before, but it was Shinde who really made me pay attention to the scope and impact of Roberts’ audacious undertaking nearly 200 years ago.

Only a few months after writing the review of “From Cairo to Beirut,” I noticed a small advertisement in an anthropology magazine that promoted a temporary exhibit of David Roberts’ work at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University. Primed by Shinde’s book, I had to go see Roberts’ work up close.

And I’m so glad I did. Of all of the museums I had the privilege of visiting last year, that exhibit was the most memorable by far. Comprehensive and immersive, it offered gallery after gallery of richly detailed paintings, sketches and lithographs.

In conjunction with the exhibit, a companion book titled “David Roberts: Artist and Traveler” now has been published by the Museum and is being distributed by Oregon State University Press.

This gorgeous, oversized book features Roberts’ panoramic landscapes, of course, and his paintings of colossal temples and vibrant souks. But it also amplifies what couldn’t be soaked up in the course of just one afternoon spent in the museum.

Naturally, some of the text, which was written by John Olbrantz, director of the Hallie Ford Museum and organizer of the Roberts exhibit, reiterates details that were provided in the labels and captions of the exhibit itself.

But when the information is presented in the narrative flow of a book format, and when the reader has the illustrations right at hand to scrutinize (without having to worry about blocking someone else’s view), this offers the luxury of pondering and revisiting the material in a way that an exhibit in a public space usually cannot.

This book delves into the evolving opportunities for artists in the 19th century. Born into poverty, Roberts began his career as apprentice to a house painter and later painted backdrops for a traveling circus before elevating his career as a travelogue artist with the help of a collaboration with Belgian lithographer Louis Haghe.

Author Olbrantz shares the exuberance of Roberts’ journals and letters back home as the Scotsman traveled “with a gusto I have not known since boyhood.”

The artist described sublime seascapes, magnificent deserts and the harsh realities of traversing those spaces. (While he proclaimed that “(t)he craft of the Nile are the most picturesque,” Roberts also noted that the flies along that river “surpass in impudence others of all countries.”)

While there were occasional misadventures, Roberts reveled in the charms of archaeological and religious sites, and the hospitality of Bedouin hosts, Christian monks and government functionaries.

Ultimately, the artwork from Roberts’ travels generated immense interest across Great Britain in exotic travel and archaeology. As shared in this new book, the Scotsman’s works still convey that fresh sense of discovery.

This week’s book

“David Roberts: Artist and Traveler” by John Olbrantz

Hallie Ford Museum of Art — 152 pp — $45