Swansea Castle
Maker
(artist)
1757-1827
1757-1827
Title
Swansea Castle
Date of Production
(circa) 1797
Medium
graphite, pen and grey and brown ink, watercolour on wove paper
Dimensions
Height: 15.4 cm
Width: 43.5 cm
Width: 43.5 cm
Accession Number
D.1967.WS.79
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
Boat & ship industry
Label Text
This animated view focuses on marine activity: men carry timbers for shipbuilding while passengers wait to be ferried across the water in small boats. Rowlandson drew this scene on one of several journeys with his friend and patron, Henry Wigstead. An aquatint entitled ‘Swansey’ appears in Wigstead’s Remarks on a Tour to North and South Wales in the Year 1797 (1800). In the plate, a free adaption of the drawing, the castle is more pronounced. The strong diagonal element in the composition and the linear groupings are devices Rowlandson frequently used.
Notes
Rowlandson and Henry Wigstead made a tour of Wales in August 1797. The ruled-off area to the left suggests the artist's intention to cut the composition down to this format, thus lending prominence to the castle. A freely adapted version of this drawing is reproduced as an aquatint in Wigstead's 'Remarks on a Tour to North and South Wales, in the Year 1797', published 1800 (see British Museum 1873,0510.125).
Provenance
William Wycliffe Spooner, Ilkley (1882-1967); Spooner Bequest 1967
Exhibition History
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
English Landscape Drawings and Watercolours, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/06/1979-01/09/1979 ...More
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
English Landscape Drawings [catalogue not found], Rye Art Gallery, England, 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
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
English Landscape Drawings and Watercolours, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/06/1979-01/09/1979 ...More
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
English Landscape Drawings [catalogue not found], Rye Art Gallery, England, 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
The Spooner Collection of British Watercolours, Courtauld Institute Galleries; Huntington Library; Wordsworth Trust, 2005-06
cat. no. 35
ill. on p. 143
The Northern Landscape. Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, The Drawing Center, New York; Courtauld Institute Galleries, 1986
no. 102
ill. on p. 229
The Northern Landscape: Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1986
cat. no. 102
ill. on p. 229 ...More
English Landscape Drawings and Watercolours, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1979
cat. no. 34
Exhibition of Drawings and Watercolours from the Spooner and Witt Collections, Australia, New Zealand, 1976 - 1978
cat. no. 15
ill.
The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1974
cat. no. 19
English Watercolours: The Spooner Collection and Bequest, City Art Gallery, Bristol, 1973
cat. no. 42
Masters of the Watercolour - Watercolours from the Spooner Collection, Holburne Museum of Art, Bath, 1969
cat. no. 62
The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1968
cat. no. 23 ...Less
cat. no. 35
ill. on p. 143
The Northern Landscape. Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, The Drawing Center, New York; Courtauld Institute Galleries, 1986
no. 102
ill. on p. 229
The Northern Landscape: Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1986
cat. no. 102
ill. on p. 229 ...More
English Landscape Drawings and Watercolours, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1979
cat. no. 34
Exhibition of Drawings and Watercolours from the Spooner and Witt Collections, Australia, New Zealand, 1976 - 1978
cat. no. 15
ill.
The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1974
cat. no. 19
English Watercolours: The Spooner Collection and Bequest, City Art Gallery, Bristol, 1973
cat. no. 42
Masters of the Watercolour - Watercolours from the Spooner Collection, Holburne Museum of Art, Bath, 1969
cat. no. 62
The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1968
cat. no. 23 ...Less
Inscriptions
Watermark: Watermark: none.
Inscription: Recto: lower left edge, grey ink: "Swansea Castle"; lower right edge, brown ink, signed: "T. Rowlandson". Verso: upper left, graphite, partly erased: "c/ g/-/- £2 20"; left centre, graphite: "Swansea Castle"; lower left, graphite, circled: "1804".
Collector's mark: none.
Inscription: Recto: lower left edge, grey ink: "Swansea Castle"; lower right edge, brown ink, signed: "T. Rowlandson". Verso: upper left, graphite, partly erased: "c/ g/-/- £2 20"; left centre, graphite: "Swansea Castle"; lower left, graphite, circled: "1804".
Collector's mark: none.
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