- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- Date
- (?) 1800
- Medium and Support
- Graphite and watercolour on wove paper
- Dimensions
- 11.9 × 20.7 cm, 4 ⅝ × 8 ⅛ in
- Object Type
- Colour Sketch: Studio Work
- Subject Terms
- Durham and Northumberland; Picturesque Vernacular
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- TG1084
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 191i as 'Cottages near Newcastle'; '1797'
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001
Provenance
Thomas Calvert Girtin (1801–74); then by descent to George Wyndham Hog Girtin (1835–1911) (lent to London, 1875); then by descent to Thomas Girtin (1874–1960); given to Tom Girtin (1913–94), c.1938; bought by John Baskett on behalf of Paul Mellon (1907–99), 1970; presented to the Center, 1975
Exhibition History
London, 1875, no.61 as 'Cottages near Newcastle'; London, 1962a, no.136; Reading, 1969, no.41; Wichita, 1983, fig.11; New Haven, 1986a, no.51 as ’Cottage near Newcastle’
Bibliography
Davies, 1924, pl.36 as 'Cottages at Newcastle'; YCBA Online as 'Cottage near Newcastle, Northumberland' (Accessed 15/09/2022)
Other entries in Late Watercolours:
Samuel William Reynolds and Painting for the Art Market
An Imaginary City, with Antique Buildings
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
Ancient Ruins, with an Obelisk
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Ancient Ruins, with a Gothic Church
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
A Classical Composition, with a Church and Column
Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool
The Arch of Janus, Rome
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Temple of Clitumnus
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Rome: The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Rome: The Temple of Saturn, with the Arch of Septimius Severus
Private Collection
A Town on an Estuary
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
A Lagoon Capriccio
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
An Unidentified Coastal Landscape with a Windmill
Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight
Barnard Castle, from the River Tees
Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle
A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
An Exterior View of the Ruins of Lindisfarne Priory Church
Lindisfarne Priory, Northumberland (English Heritage)
Kelso Abbey: The West Front
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Jedburgh Abbey, from the Riverbank
The Higgins, Bedford
On the River Medway, with a Boatyard, Beached Vessels and Hulks
Private Collection
Bisham Abbey, on the River Thames
Private Collection
A Classical Composition, with Figures Admiring the Sculptures
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
An Unidentified Ruin next to a Bridge over a Stream, Said to Be Furness Abbey
Touchstones Rochdale
The Gatehouse of Morpeth Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Buildings on the River Nidd, near Knaresborough
British Museum, London
Kirkstall Abbey, from Kirkstall Hill
British Museum, London
Kirkstall Abbey, from Kirkstall Bridge, Morning
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Kirkstall Abbey, from the Canal, Evening
Private Collection
A Distant View of Kirkstall Abbey
Williamson Art Gallery & Museum, Birkenhead
An Unidentified Scene, Formerly Known as ‘Kirkstall Village’
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Wetherby Bridge and Mills, Looking across the Weir
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Wetherby: Looking through the Bridge to the Mills
British Museum, London
Wetherby: Looking through the Bridge to the Mills
Leeds Art Gallery
Kirk Deighton, near Wetherby
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
York: The New Walk on the Banks of the River Ouse
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
York: The Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
York: The Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern
Private Collection
York Minster from the South East, Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern to the Right
Private Collection
A Farmyard with Barns, Ladder and Figures; A Sky Study
Courtauld Gallery, London
Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Leeds Art Gallery
Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery
A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell
Private Collection
Ripon Minster, from the South East
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Ripon Minster, from the South West
Private Collection
The Abbey Mill, near Knaresborough
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
A Mountain Stream in Spate, Possibly the River Wharfe
Private Collection
Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church from across the River Wharfe
Eton College, Windsor
Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church, from across the River Wharfe
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff
Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church, from across the River Wharfe
Leeds Art Gallery
Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Private Collection
Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Private Collection
The Banks of the River Wharfe, with Bolton Abbey in the Distance
Private Collection
Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe, near Bolton Abbey
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe, near Bolton Abbey
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Storiths Heights, near Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
Richmond Castle, from the River Swale
Leeds Art Gallery
A Farmhouse in Malhamdale, Known as 'Kirkby Priory, near Malham'
British Museum, London
An Ancient Oak, Said to Be on the River Ure
Private Collection
Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Private Collection, Norfolk
Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Private Collection
Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Guisborough Priory: The Ruined East End
Tate, London
A Distant View of Guisborough Priory; The Tithe Barn, Abbotsbury
Private Collection, Norfolk
A Distant View of Guisborough Priory
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
A Distant View of Guisborough Priory
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Private Collection
A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Kelso Abbey, from the River Tweed
Private Collection
Warkworth Castle, from the River Coquet
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
An Upland Landscape, Said to Show Etal Castle
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The River Tweed at Kelso, Looking Upstream
Courtauld Gallery, London
The Eildon Hills, from the River Tweed
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
A Distant View of Dryburgh Abbey, with the Eildon Hills Beyond
Private Collection
The Valley of the Tweed, with Melrose Abbey in the Distance
Private Collection
Jedburgh Abbey, from Jed Water
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
Jedburgh Abbey, from the South East
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Village of Jedburgh
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Southampton: The South Gate and Old Gaol
Private Collection
Bristol Harbour, with St Mary Redcliffe in the Distance
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
A Wharf with Shipping, Possibly at Bristol
Art Institute of Chicago
A Rainbow over the River Exe
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
A Rainbow over the River Exe
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
A Rainbow over the River Exe
Graves Gallery, Sheffield
Lydford Castle, from the River Lyd
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
St Vincent’s Rocks and the Avon Gorge
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
On the River Taw, North Devon, Looking from Braunton Marsh towards Instow and Appledore
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Conwy Castle, from the River Gyffin
Private Collection, Norfolk
Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea (The White House, Chelsea)
Tate, London
Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea
Private Collection, Norfolk
A Panoramic Landscape, with Figures Trawling a Pond
Private Collection
Landscape with a Distant Ridge, Possibly Hampstead Heath
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
An Inn Yard, Edgware Road, Paddington
British Museum, London
The Thames from a Window of the Old Toy Inn, Hampton Court
British Museum, London
The Old Cottage, Widmore, near Bromley
British Museum, London
Shipping on the River Medway
Museum of New Zealand, Wellington
A Farmyard with Cattle, Poultry and Labourers Unloading Hay, Possibly Pinkney's Farm, Wimbish
Art Institute of Chicago
Farmhouse and Outbuildings, Possibly in Essex
Aberdeen Art Gallery
An Unidentified Village Street with a Church Tower in the Distance
British Museum, London
A Panoramic Landscape, Possibly Showing Primrose Hill, London
Private Collection
Unidentified Landscape with a Distant Rain Shower
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff
Warkworth Church, with the Bridge Beyond
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
An Italianate Landscape with Two Monks
Private Collection
Footnotes
- 1 The financial records of John Girtin covering the income he received from the sale of the contents of his brother's studio, as well as from the Eidometropolis and the twenty aquatints of the Picturesque Views in Paris, together with a detailed account of the expenses from both projects, are transcribed in the Documents section of the Archive (1804 – Item 1).
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About this Work
This fine small watercolour depicts a farmhouse that has variously been described as being near Hereford, Norwich, and, more recently, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, though on what grounds the latter location has been arrived at is unclear. The composition is known in another variant, with two children at the doorway replacing the cows and the couple shown here (TG1704 and TG1704a), whilst this version was also the subject of a copy by an unknown artist (see figure 1). All of the watercolours have been described as showing cottages, whereas the figures and animals suggest that we are looking at a farmhouse, though whether this was originally studied from nature cannot be determined. However, I suspect that even if the buildings themselves were based on a scene from nature, the landscape setting, which more resembles a country park, was improvised, and it is unlikely to have anything to do with a subject viewed on the artist’s only known visit to the Newcastle area in 1796.
In contrast to the larger variants of the composition, one of which is dated 1800, this more compact version is in excellent condition (aside from a few retouchings in the sky), allowing one to appreciate the artist’s rapid handling of the watercolour washes. It is unlikely that it was coloured on the spot, however, whatever the scene’s location, as the use of multiple washes and a relatively broad palette are both characteristic of more time-consuming studio productions. Beginning around 1796–97, Girtin produced small sketch-like works that replicated some of the spontaneous effects of the on-the-spot colour study for collectors who appreciated the less formal side of his output, and it was perhaps this, combined with the possible northern subject matter, that suggested to Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David Loshak a date of 1798 for this work (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.160). I suspect, however, that the drawing may date from a few years later and is thus related to a soft-ground etching that replicates this version of the composition (see the print after, above). Although the print appears to have been coloured by another hand, Girtin and Loshak have plausibly suggested that it was produced by the artist himself to try out the aquatint process that he was to employ in his Picturesque Views in Paris, and it may be that this and the two variants of the composition (TG1074 and TG1704a) were all made by Girtin at roughly the same time, in or around 1800. The print certainly matches the sketch in terms of size, and, as overlaying images of the two demonstrates, it was closely based on this watercolour. John Girtin (1773–1821), the artist’s brother, claimed that he ‘taught’ his younger sibling ‘the art of Etching’ (Chancery, Income and Expenses, 1804), and so could it be that this version of Girtin’s picturesque composition formed part of that process?1
Another larger version of the composition, also featuring cows being milked in the foreground, appeared at auction in New York in 1985 with the title ‘A Yorkshire Farmstead’ (Christie’s, New York, 30 October 1985, lot 433). Although the work is known only from a small black and white photograph, there is arguably enough evidence to suggest that it is a poor-quality copy, and the date and signature may therefore be inauthentic, though confirmation of this must await its reappearance or the procurement of a better image.
Image Overlay
1800
A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
TG1704
(?) 1800
TG1704a
1799
Durham Cathedral and Castle, from the River Wear
TG1074
(?) 1800
TG1704a