Sherborne Castle

Thomas Rackett (1757-1840) was an English clergyman and antiquary who studied drawing with Paul Sandby and Thomas Theodosius Forrest. Although he served as the rector of Spetisbury, in Dorset, for over 60 years, he found ample time to pursue his interests in natural history and antiquarian research, both locally and in London. He was a fellow of the Royal Society, the Society of Antiquaries and the Linnaean Society. His activity as a draughtsman was closely aligned with these interests, and most of his surviving drawings and watercolours depict ancient buildings, primarily in Dorset. Prints were made after a number of his drawings and reproduced as illustrations in books and articles on related subjects.

This watercolour of the ruins of Sherborne Castle is typical of Rackett’s work; the restricted palette and clear outlining of forms reflects the 18th-century preference for the ‘stained drawing’ style of watercolour, as practiced by his drawing masters Sandby and Forrest. A colour aquatint made after it, probably in the early decades of the 19th century, by Henry Thomas Alken, is also in The Courtauld's collection (G.2024.ST.1).

Leonard G. Duke, London; Thomas Agnew & Sons, London; The Swan Gallery, Sherborne, Dorset; where acquired by the Spooner Charitable Trust, 2023; gift to The Courtauld, 2024

Inscription: none (though unable to see verso).

Collector's mark: none (though unable to see verso).

Watermark: unable to check as is fully laid down on mount.