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Trefriew Mill, on the road from Betws-y-coed to Conwy, North Wales

Maker

(artist)
1805-1881

Title

Trefriew Mill, on the road from Betws-y-coed to Conwy, North Wales

Date of Production

1835

Medium

black chalk, watercolour and bodycolour with touches of gum arabic on wove paper, now laid down on Japanese tissue

Dimensions

Height: 40.1 cm
Width: 48.6 cm

Accession Number

D.1967.WS.68

Mode of Acquisition

William Wycliffe Spooner, bequest, 1967

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords




Label Text

This large watercolour, which was shown in the Society of British Artists exhibition in 1836, was probably worked up from notes and sketches made during a tour of Wales the previous summer. The Welsh landscape provided Palmer with ideal subjects for his new interest in naturalistic study. Through a contrast of intricate detail and minimal line, and with emphatic variations in light and shade, he succeeds in capturing the nature of water and wild vegetation.

Provenance

Sir John Ramsden (1831-1914), by 1912; Mr and Mrs R.J. Tapp; their sale, Sotheby's (London), 18 March 1964, lot 29; purchased there by The Fine Art Society (London); purchased there by Mr and Mrs William Wycliffe Spooner, Ilkley (1882-1967); Spooner Bequest 1967

Exhibition History

British Watercolours from the Spooner Collection, Huntington Museum and Art Gallery, Los Angeles, 12/02/2005-15/05/2005

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

English Landscape Drawing and Watercolours, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/05/1977-01/06/1977

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

Royal Academy of Arts Bicentenary Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 14/12/1968-02/03/1969

The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/04/1968-01/07/1968

Exhibition of the Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street, London, 1836 ...Less

Literature

The Spooner Collection of British Watercolours, Courtauld Institute Galleries; Huntington Library; Wordsworth Trust, 2005-06
cat. no. 77
ill. on p. 227

Lister, Raymond, Catalogue Raisonne of the Works of Samuel Palmer, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 1988
no. 230 on pp. 107-08
ill. on p. 107

The Northern Landscape: Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1986
cat. no. 98
ill. on p. 221 ...More

Mantegna to Cezanne: Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 1983
no. 119, pp. 101-02
ill. on p. 115

English Landscape Drawings and Watercolours, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1979
cat. no. 67
pl. IV

English Landscape Drawing and Watercolours, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1977
cat. no. 52

The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1974
cat. no. 35

English Watercolours: The Spooner Collection and Bequest, City Art Gallery, Bristol, 1973
cat. no. 38

The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1968
cat. no. 64 ...Less

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: none.

Inscription: Recto: lower left corner, pen and brown ink, titled, signed and dated by the artist: "Trefriew Mill on the Road from Bettws y Coed to Conway N. Wales / Samuel Palmer 4 Grove Street, Lisson Grove Marylebone / 1835” and below that in graphite: “Trefriew SP.W”; lower right corner, black chalk: “12”. Verso: upper centre, graphite, large: “ob” [or "90"?]. Mount (removed and now missing, but recorded in the file), Verso: “7919”.

Collector's mark: none.

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