London from Greenwich Hill
Maker
(artist)
1752-1797
1752-1797
Title
London from Greenwich Hill
Date of Production
(circa) 1791 - 1793
Medium
graphite, brown ink and watercolour on wove paper
Dimensions
Height: 37 cm
Width: 53.5 cm
Width: 53.5 cm
Accession Number
D.1967.WS.30
Mode of Acquisition
William Wycliffe Spooner, bequest, 1967
Credit
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)
Location
Not currently on display
Keywords
Label Text
English subjects are relatively rare in Cozens’s work, but the view of London from Greenwich Park seems to have held special significance for him. This watercolour, probably made for a collector, is one of six known versions of the scene. The foreground, rich in incidental details such as a herd of white deer, partly blocks the panoramic view of London; however, the curve of the river leads the viewer’s eyes past the Isle of Dogs toward the diminutive dome of St Paul’s Cathedral, visible on the horizon.
Notes
There are five other versions of this view, which differ mainly in the number and arrangement of deer in the foreground, and belong to either 1791 (date on one of them) or at the latest to 1792-93, after which Cozens was unable to work due to illness.
Provenance
P.H. Pleydell-Bouverie; his sale, Sotheby's (London), 27 June 1956, lot 75; purchased there by the Fine Art Society; purchased there by Mr and Mrs William Wycliffe Spooner, Ilkley (1882-1967); Spooner Bequest 1967
Exhibition History
Drawings Gallery Display - Panorama, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 26/09/2015-10/01/2016
British Watercolours from the Spooner Collection, Huntington Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 12/02/2005-15/05/2005; Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere, 18/07/2005-23/10/2005; Hermitage Rooms, Somerset House, London, 16/11/2005-12/02/2006
The Northern Landscape: Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 03/09/1986-30/11/1986; The Drawing Center, New York, 08/04/1986-26/07/1986 ...More
Mantegna to Cezanne - Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 24/02/1983-19/06/1983
English Landscape Drawings and Watercolours, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/06/1979-01/09/1979
Exhibition of Drawings and Watercolours from the Spooner and Witt Collections, Australia, New Zealand, 1976-78
The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1974
English Watercolours: The Spooner Collection and Bequest, City Art Gallery, Bristol, 11/05/1973-02/06/1973
Watercolours by John Robert Cozens, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, 06/03/1971-12/04/1971; Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 22/04/1971-16/05/1971
English Landscape Drawings [catalogue not found], Rye Art Gallery, England, 1971
English landscape painting of the 18th and 19th centuries, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 10/10/1970-23/11/1970; Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art, 01/12/1970-15/01/1971
Masters of the Watercolour - Watercolours from the Spooner
Collection, Holburne Museum of Art, Bath, 1969
The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/04/1968-01/07/1968 ...Less
British Watercolours from the Spooner Collection, Huntington Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 12/02/2005-15/05/2005; Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere, 18/07/2005-23/10/2005; Hermitage Rooms, Somerset House, London, 16/11/2005-12/02/2006
The Northern Landscape: Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 03/09/1986-30/11/1986; The Drawing Center, New York, 08/04/1986-26/07/1986 ...More
Mantegna to Cezanne - Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 24/02/1983-19/06/1983
English Landscape Drawings and Watercolours, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/06/1979-01/09/1979
Exhibition of Drawings and Watercolours from the Spooner and Witt Collections, Australia, New Zealand, 1976-78
The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1974
English Watercolours: The Spooner Collection and Bequest, City Art Gallery, Bristol, 11/05/1973-02/06/1973
Watercolours by John Robert Cozens, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, 06/03/1971-12/04/1971; Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 22/04/1971-16/05/1971
English Landscape Drawings [catalogue not found], Rye Art Gallery, England, 1971
English landscape painting of the 18th and 19th centuries, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 10/10/1970-23/11/1970; Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art, 01/12/1970-15/01/1971
Masters of the Watercolour - Watercolours from the Spooner
Collection, Holburne Museum of Art, Bath, 1969
The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/04/1968-01/07/1968 ...Less
Literature
Mantegna to Matisse - Master Drawings from The Courtauld Gallery, Frick Collection, New York and Courtauld Gallery, London London 2012-2013
The Spooner Collection of British Watercolours, Courtauld Institute Galleries; Huntington Library; Wordsworth Trust, 2005-06
cat. no. 29
ill. on p. 131
Vecchi, Pierluigi de and Graziano Alfredo Vergani, La natura e il paesaggio nella pittura italiana, 2002
p. 281
ill. on p. 281 ...More
Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, From view to vision: British watercolours from Sandby to Turner in the Whitworth Art Gallery, 1993
p. 150 under no. 144
Farr, Dennis, 100 Masterpieces from the Courtauld Collections, London: Courtauld Institute Galleries, 1987
p. 186
ill. on p. 187
The Northern Landscape: Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1986
cat. no. 86
ill. on p. 197
Mantegna to Cezanne: Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 1983
no. 82, p. 71
ill. on p. 88
Wilton, Andrew, The art of Alexander and John Robert Cozens, New Haven 1980
p. 51 under no. 137
English Landscape Drawings and Watercolours, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1979
cat. no. 26
pl. I
Exhibition of Drawings and Watercolours from the Spooner and Witt Collections, Australia, New Zealand, 1976 - 1978
cat. no. 8
White, Christopher, English landscape 1630-1850, New Haven 1977
p. 48 under no. 77
The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1974
cat. no. 16
English Watercolours: The Spooner Collection and Bequest, City Art Gallery, Bristol, 1973
cat. no. 18
Herrmann, Luke, British landscape painting of the eighteenth century, London: Faber & Faber, 1973
p. 88
Watercolours by John Robert Cozens, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester and V&A, London, 1971, 1971
cat. no. 94
ill.
English landscape painting of the 18th and 19th centuries, Tokyo and Kyoto, 1970-1971
cat. no. 73
ill.
Watercolours by John Robert Cozens, V&A and Whitworth, 1971
cat. no. 94
Masters of the Watercolour - Watercolours from the Spooner Collection, Holburne Museum of Art, Bath, 1969
cat. no. 23
Troutman, Philip, 'The Evocation of Atmosphere in the English Water-colour' in Apollo, July 1968
pp. 53-4
The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1968
cat. no. 12
Sotheby's, Eighteenth century and modern drawings and paintings, London, 27 June 1956
lot 75
ill.
Oppé, A. P., Alexander & John Robert Cozens, 1952
p. 152
Apollo, March 1937; XXV, 147
p. 169
Bell, C.F. and Thomas Girtin, The 23rd volume of the Walpole Society 1934-1935. The drawings and sketches of John Robert Cozens, Oxford: University Press, 1935
no. 441, i and ii, and Notes, no. 441 ...Less
The Spooner Collection of British Watercolours, Courtauld Institute Galleries; Huntington Library; Wordsworth Trust, 2005-06
cat. no. 29
ill. on p. 131
Vecchi, Pierluigi de and Graziano Alfredo Vergani, La natura e il paesaggio nella pittura italiana, 2002
p. 281
ill. on p. 281 ...More
Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, From view to vision: British watercolours from Sandby to Turner in the Whitworth Art Gallery, 1993
p. 150 under no. 144
Farr, Dennis, 100 Masterpieces from the Courtauld Collections, London: Courtauld Institute Galleries, 1987
p. 186
ill. on p. 187
The Northern Landscape: Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1986
cat. no. 86
ill. on p. 197
Mantegna to Cezanne: Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 1983
no. 82, p. 71
ill. on p. 88
Wilton, Andrew, The art of Alexander and John Robert Cozens, New Haven 1980
p. 51 under no. 137
English Landscape Drawings and Watercolours, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1979
cat. no. 26
pl. I
Exhibition of Drawings and Watercolours from the Spooner and Witt Collections, Australia, New Zealand, 1976 - 1978
cat. no. 8
White, Christopher, English landscape 1630-1850, New Haven 1977
p. 48 under no. 77
The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1974
cat. no. 16
English Watercolours: The Spooner Collection and Bequest, City Art Gallery, Bristol, 1973
cat. no. 18
Herrmann, Luke, British landscape painting of the eighteenth century, London: Faber & Faber, 1973
p. 88
Watercolours by John Robert Cozens, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester and V&A, London, 1971, 1971
cat. no. 94
ill.
English landscape painting of the 18th and 19th centuries, Tokyo and Kyoto, 1970-1971
cat. no. 73
ill.
Watercolours by John Robert Cozens, V&A and Whitworth, 1971
cat. no. 94
Masters of the Watercolour - Watercolours from the Spooner Collection, Holburne Museum of Art, Bath, 1969
cat. no. 23
Troutman, Philip, 'The Evocation of Atmosphere in the English Water-colour' in Apollo, July 1968
pp. 53-4
The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1968
cat. no. 12
Sotheby's, Eighteenth century and modern drawings and paintings, London, 27 June 1956
lot 75
ill.
Oppé, A. P., Alexander & John Robert Cozens, 1952
p. 152
Apollo, March 1937; XXV, 147
p. 169
Bell, C.F. and Thomas Girtin, The 23rd volume of the Walpole Society 1934-1935. The drawings and sketches of John Robert Cozens, Oxford: University Press, 1935
no. 441, i and ii, and Notes, no. 441 ...Less
Inscriptions
Watermark: Watermark: none.
Inscription: Recto: lower edge, left of centre, brown ink, signed by the artist, the "o" superscript: "Jno Cozens".
Collector's mark: none.
Inscription: Recto: lower edge, left of centre, brown ink, signed by the artist, the "o" superscript: "Jno Cozens".
Collector's mark: none.
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