Near Kelso
Maker
(artist)
1775-1802
1775-1802
Title
Near Kelso
Date of Production
(circa) 1800 - 1801
Medium
graphite, brown ink wash and watercolour on laid paper
Dimensions
Height: 26 cm
Width: 44.1 cm
Width: 44.1 cm
Accession Number
D.2007.DS.18
Mode of Acquisition
Dorothy Scharf, bequest, 2007 (March)
Credit
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)
Copyright
Work in the public domain
Location
Not currently on display
Keywords
Label Text
Girtin’s importance and talent were famously summarised by his friend J.M.W. Turner who stated: ‘had Tom Girtin lived I should have starved.’ Born and trained in London, Girtin went on several sketching tours to the North where the scenery inspired him to adopt a new palette of warm browns, slate greys, and blues. Instead of using grey wash as a base he applied the colour in broad washes directly on the white paper and then experimented with additions of brown ink. The present scene of the river Tweed near the Scottish town of Kelso is a fine example of this technique.
Provenance
the artist's son, Dr Thomas Calvert Girtin (b. 1801); Mrs Rogge; Charles Morland Agnew (1855-1931); by descent to Vice-Admiral Sir William Agnew, Hampshire (1898-1960); Thomas Agnew & Sons (London); purchased there by Miss Dorothy Scharf, London (1942-2004), 1978 (£19,500); Scharf Bequest 2007
Exhibition History
A Dialogue with Nature: Romantic Landscapes from Britain and Germany, The Morgan Library, New York, 30/05/2014-07/09/2014
A Dialogue with Nature: Romantic Landscapes from Britain and Germany, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 30/01/2014-27/04/2014
The Courtauld Collects - 20 Years of Acquisitions, Somerset House & London & England, 17/06/2010-19/09/2010 ...More
106th Annual Exhibition of Watercolours and Drawings, Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, 22/01/1979-23/02/1979
Loan Exhibition of Watercolours by Thomas Girtin, Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, 1953
Annual Exhibition of Selected Watercolour Drawings, Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, 1931
Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1875 ...Less
A Dialogue with Nature: Romantic Landscapes from Britain and Germany, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 30/01/2014-27/04/2014
The Courtauld Collects - 20 Years of Acquisitions, Somerset House & London & England, 17/06/2010-19/09/2010 ...More
106th Annual Exhibition of Watercolours and Drawings, Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, 22/01/1979-23/02/1979
Loan Exhibition of Watercolours by Thomas Girtin, Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, 1953
Annual Exhibition of Selected Watercolour Drawings, Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, 1931
Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1875 ...Less
Literature
A Dialogue with Nature: Romantic Landscapes from Britain and Germany, Courtauld Gallery; Morgan Library, 2014
no. 18
ill. on p. 59
Girtin, Thomas and David Loshak, The art of Thomas Girtin: with a catalogue and 109 illustrations, London, 1954
no. 490 and on p. 87
pl. 100
no. 18
ill. on p. 59
Girtin, Thomas and David Loshak, The art of Thomas Girtin: with a catalogue and 109 illustrations, London, 1954
no. 490 and on p. 87
pl. 100
Inscriptions
Watermark: Watermark: Verso, upper right corner: "S" [could be start of a word, or letter on its own; if the former, could match Heawood 3042 - Paris 1727-28].
Inscription: Recto: lower right, brown ink, signed: "Girtin.".
Collector's mark: none.
Inscription: Recto: lower right, brown ink, signed: "Girtin.".
Collector's mark: none.
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