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Landscape, evening - two figures walking along a road leading to a valley, a ruin on a wooded hill to the right

Maker

(artist)
1724-1804

Title

Date of Production

1700 - 1799

Medium

pen and brown ink, watercolour on laid paper, cut into an oval

Dimensions

Height: 16.6 cm
Width: 23.5 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.4121

Mode of Acquisition

Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Notes

Gilpin was headmaster of Cheam boys’ school from 1752, and in 1777 became the vicar of Boldre in Hampshire. His landscapes consider the irregularity of scenery as picturesque, using features of natural environments to create a composition of overall harmony. He travelled widely in rural Britain to seek such locations, and wrote travel journals to record his experiences.

Provenance

the artist, William Gilpin (1724-1804), L.2622a (lower left); Archdeacon F.H.D. Smythe; given by him to Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b, n.d.; Witt Bequest 1952 The artist had 2 sales, 6 May 1802 [catalogue not yet checked] and 6 June 1804 [lots in catalogue are not described so impossible to identify individual drawings].

Exhibition History

Glasgow University, 1953 (February-March)

English Landscape Drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/01/1965-01/05/1965

Exhibition of the works of some neglected English masters, c.1750-c.1830, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1932

Literature

English Landscape Drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1965
cat. no. 18

Blunt, Anthony, Hand-list of the drawings in the Witt Collection, London, 1956
p. 23

Exhibition of the works of some neglected English masters, c.1750-c.1830, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1932
cat. no. 131

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: none.

Inscription: Verso: lower right, graphite: "#3". Mount (removed, cut down, and now in pieces in the file): graphite: "W Gilpin / (W G impressed) if so Gilpin [this line struck through] / I wonder if it is Anthony Devis / it came among his sketches."; "#3"; "By W. Gilpin / Monogram correct"; incorrect Witt number: "4212".

Collector's mark: Recto: lower left, blindstamped: William Gilpin (L.2622a). Verso: lower centre edge, stamped in black: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).

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