Hampstead Heath

Copyright

Work in the public domain
Image: Courtauld
by-nc

Maker

(artist)
1703-1772

Title

Hampstead Heath

Date of Production

(circa) 1765

Medium

graphite and watercolour on laid paper, laid down on Japanese tissue

Dimensions

Height: 31.4 cm
Width: 39.2 cm

Object Number

D.1967.WS.90

Mode of Acquisition

William Wycliffe Spooner, bequest, 1967

Credit

Courtauld Gallery, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Location

Not currently on display
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Keywords

Label Text

Taverner’s reputation was made through his friend Tobias Smollett who, in The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771), wrote: ‘His trees not only have a richness of foliage and warmth of colouring which delights the view, but also a certain magnificence in the disposition and spirit in the expression.’ At a time when tinted drawings were prevalent, Taverner’s watercolour style is remarkable for its looseness and informality, as evident in the treatment of foliage seen here. His depiction of woodland, mostly around London, owed much to the influence of Dutch landscape painters.

Notes

Taverner’s experimental use of watercolour was influenced by the structural composition of Italian and Dutch oil paintings. He also worked for the ecclesiastical Arches Court in London, allowing him to earn a living separate to his artistic production....More
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Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: Recto, left centre: crowned circle with writing around the edges “HONI SOIT MAL Y PENSE” containing a quartered coat of arms comprising lions, fleur-de-lis and a harp. Countermark: Recto, right centre: circle containing imperial crown above “GR” encompassed by laurel leaves (both marks match Churchill 214 – 1733).

Inscription: Mount (removed, recorded in M+), Verso: graphite: “Hampstead Heath 1765 / William Taverner”; pen and ink: “89b Query Taverner”.

Provenance

Sir H.F. Wilson; purchased from him by Leonard G. Duke, London (1890-1971) in 1933; Colnaghi (London); 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, Courtauld Gallery, London, 03/09/1986-30/11/1986; The Drawing Center, New York, 08/04/1986-26/07/1986
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English Landscape Drawings & Watercolours from the Witt and Spooner Collections, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, June 1979-September 1979
Exhibition of Drawings and Watercolours from the Spooner and Witt Collections, The National Art Gallery of New Zealand, Wellington, 1976-1976; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1976-1976
The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1974
English Watercolours: The Spooner Collection and Bequest, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol, 11/05/1973-02/06/1973
The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/04/1968-01/07/1968
British Art Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 06/01/1934-10/03/1934
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Literature

The Spooner Collection of British Watercolours, Courtauld Institute Galleries; Huntington Library; Wordsworth Trust, 2005-06
cat. no. 3
ill. on p. 79
Sloan, Kim, A noble art: amateur artists and drawings masters, c.1600-1800, London, 2000
p. 89 under no. 57
The Northern Landscape. Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, The Drawing Center, New York; Courtauld Institute Galleries, 1986
no. 106
ill. on p. 237
...More
The Northern Landscape: Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1986
cat. no. 106
ill. on p. 237
English Landscape Drawings and Watercolours, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1979
cat. no. 2
Exhibition of Drawings and Watercolours from the Spooner and Witt Collections, Australia, New Zealand, 1976 - 1978
cat. no. 1
The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1974
cat. no. 7
English Watercolours: The Spooner Collection and Bequest, City Art Gallery, Bristol, 1973
cat. no. 50
Reynolds, Graham, Watercolours: a concise history, London, 1971
fig. 34
Troutman, Philip, 'The Evocation of Atmosphere in the English Water-colour' in Apollo, July 1968
p. 53
fig. 1 on p. 51
see attached PDF
The William Spooner Collection and Bequest, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1968
cat. no. 2
pl. II
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