- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) and (?) Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) after John Henderson (1764-1843)
- Title
-
- Dartford High Street
- Date
- 1795 - 1796
- Medium and Support
- Graphite, pen and ink and watercolour on laid paper
- Dimensions
- 42.8 × 55 cm, 16 ⅞ × 21 ⅝ in
- Inscription
'by Turner / View of the Street at Dartford Kent' on the reverse of the mount
- Object Type
- Studio Watercolour
- Subject Terms
- Dover and Kent; Street Scene
-
- Collection
- Versions
-
Dartford High Street
(TG0843)
- Catalogue Number
- TG0844
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2014
Provenance
Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833); his posthumous sale, probably Christie's, 2 July 1833, lot 88 as 'View in the Street of Dartford, Indian ink' by Joseph Mallord William Turner; bought by 'Tiffin', £2 2s; William Esdaile (1758–1837); his posthumous sale, Christie's, 21 March 1838, lot 828 as 'View of Dartford' by Thomas Girtin and Joseph Mallord William Turner; bought, £3 10s; Christie's, 16 May 1885, lot 97 as 'Dartford in Kent' by Joseph Mallord William Turner, 55 gns; Frederick Startridge Ellis (1830–1901); Christie's, 13 December 1918, lot 47 as 'Dartford, Kent' by Joseph Mallord William Turner; bought by 'W. Sabin', £110; Sabin Galleries, Ltd, London; Basil Dighton of Savile Row, London, 1923; private collection, USA; Guy Peppiatt Fine Art, 2014
Exhibition History
Guy Peppiatt, London, 2014, no.11 as by Thomas Girtin
Bibliography
Thornbury, 1862, vol.1, p.98
Place depicted
Other entries in Monro School Copies:
British Views, Including Works after the Outlines of John Henderson

An Upland Landscape with a Rainbow, Said to Be Lowther Fells
Kendal Town Hall

Tonbridge Bridge and Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

The High Rocks, near Tunbridge Wells
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

The Town of Rye, Seen from the Marshes
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Dover Castle, Seen from the Beach
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

An Upland Scene with a Wooded Valley
Leeds University Art Gallery

Unidentified Medieval Ruins, with Agricultural Buildings
Tate, London

A View near Keswick, Probably Bassenthwaite Lake
Private Collection

Skiddaw and Bassenthwaite Lake, from the Vale of Newlands
Private Collection

Looking South into Borrowdale, from the Shore of Derwentwater
Private Collection

Mountainous Landscape, Possibly in the Lake District
Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool

Boon Crag Cottage, with Coniston Water Beyond
Private Collection

A View in Cumbria, Probably Looking from Irton Fell towards Ravenglass
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

A View in Cumbria, Looking towards Irton and the Irish Sea, with the Isle of Man in the Distance
Tate, London

The River Leven, Cumbria, Viewed from Penny Bridge
Tate, London

St John's Vale, Cumbria
Private Collection

The Lodore Falls
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Langdale Pikes
Private Collection

An Unidentified Bridge over a Stream, Possibly in North Wales
Private Collection

Derwentwater, with Skiddaw in the Distance
Eton College, Windsor

Beddgelert Bridge, North Wales
Private Collection

A Mountainous Landscape with an Overshot Mill
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

A Mountainous River Landscape with a Bridge
Private Collection

Cynwyd Mill, near Corwen, North Wales
Brandler Galleries, Brentwood

Conwy: The Town Walls from the South East
Tate, London

Raglan Castle: The Great Hall
Private Collection

A Mountainous Landscape with an Unidentified Bridge, Possibly in North Wales
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

The Iron Bridge at Coalbrookdale
Private Collection

An Estuary, Possibly Dartmouth
Private Collection

Grasmere: Looking North West to Helm Crag
Private Collection

The Head of Lake Windermere
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence

The Head of Derwentwater, with the Lodore Falls
Private Collection

Dover Harbour, with Shipping Being Overhauled
Tate, London

A Two-Master in Dover Harbour, with the Castle Beyond
Tate, London

Dover Harbour: A Ship Being Overhauled
Tate, London

A Boat on the Shore, near Shakespeare Cliff, Dover
Tate, London

Dover Harbour: Fishing Vessels, Their Sails Drying
Tate, London

Shipping in Dover Harbour, with the Castle Beyond
Tate, London

A Lake View, Possibly Ullswater
Private Collection

A General View of Dover Harbour, from the East
Tate, London

Dover Harbour: Small Boats by the Quay
Tate, London

Boats in Dover Harbour
British Museum, London

A Ship under Repair in Dover Harbour
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

Figures on a Fishing Vessel in Dover Harbour
Private Collection

A Fishing Vessel with Hastings Beyond
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery

Dover Castle from the Sea
Private Collection

A Beached Vessel in the Inner Harbour at Dover
Private Collection

Dover Harbour, with the Castle on the Hill
British Museum, London

Dover Harbour
Private Collection

Beached Vessels in Dover Harbour, the Castle in the Distance
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton

Vessels Anchored in Dover Harbour, with the Castle Beyond
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Warehouses with Shipping in Dover Harbour
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton

Vessels in the Harbour at Dover, with the Castle Beyond
Private Collection

Dover Harbour, with the Cliffs Beyond
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart

Vessels Moored in Dover Harbour
Private Collection

The Inner Harbour, Dover, with the Castle Beyond
Brighton Museum and Art Gallery

A Ship Drawn Up on a Beach Being Careened
Private Collection

Beached Fishing Vessels, Dover Harbour
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

Beached Fishing Vessels in the Harbour at Dover
Private Collection

Boats Anchored in Dover Harbour
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Boats Anchored in Dover Harbour
Private Collection

Dover Harbour, with Fishing Boats at Low Tide
The High Museum of Art, Atlanta

Dover: The Harbour with Vessels
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

A Smack in Dover Harbour, Drying Sails, with the Old Church in the Distance
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

Dover Harbour: A Boat under Repair
Private Collection

Fishing Boats at Low Tide, near Dover
Courtauld Gallery, London

Dover: Two Boatmen Standing by the Prow of a Brig
Private Collection

Dover Harbour
Private Collection

A Fisherman's Cottage, Said to Be at Dover
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

The Hull of a Ship under Repair, with a Barge and Smaller Boats
Tate, London

A Boat-Builder’s Yard, Possibly on the River Medway
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

A Boat-Builder’s Yard, Possibly on the Medway
Private Collection

A Boat-Builder’s Yard, Possibly on the River Medway
Private Collection

A Boat-Builder's Shed, Possibly on the River Medway
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

A Boat-Builder’s Shed, Possibly on the River Medway, with a Fishing Boat with Drying Sails
Tate, London

The Coast, near Dover
The Higgins, Bedford

Folkestone Harbour
Julian Huxley-Parlour Fine Art, London

Beachy Head, Looking towards Newhaven
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Beachy Head, Looking towards Newhaven
Ulster Museum, Belfast

Shakespeare Cliff, Dover
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

Beached Vessels in Dover Harbour, the Castle in the Distance
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Buildings on a Wooden Quayside
Private Collection

A Coast View with Chalk Cliffs, Probably from near Beachy Head
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

A Small Boat under Repair by a Jetty
Private Collection

Dover: Snargate Street, Looking West
Private Collection

Dartford High Street
Private Collection

Tonbridge Bridge and Castle
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

Rye, from the River Tillingham
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Dover: Fishing Boats at Low Tide
Private Collection

Two Boatmen Caulking the Bows of a Beached Brig, Probably at Dover
Private Collection

Hastings: A Beached Fishing Boat
Private Collection

A Coastal Scene at Dover
Worthing Museum and Art Gallery

Mickleham Church
Tate, London

Dolbadarn Castle on Llyn Padarn
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

Conwy Castle, from the East
Huddersfield Art Gallery

Harlech Castle, from the South
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

The Gatehouse, Harlech Castle, Seen from the Moat
Private Collection, Gloucestershire

The High Street at Egham
Private Collection

Boats in Dover Harbour
Leeds Art Gallery

Two Trees Overlooking a Meandering River
Private Collection

A Dilapidated Cottage
Private Collection

Dover: Boats Anchored in the Harbour
Private Collection

A Coastal View near Dover, probably at St Margaret's, Cliffe
Private Collection

Dover: Beached Boats, with the Castle Beyond
Private Collection

Dover Harbour: The Stern of a Large Ship, and Smaller Vessels
Tate, London

The Town of Rye, Seen from the Marshes
British Museum, London
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About this Work
It is unlikely that Girtin visited Dartford in Kent, and this lively scene showing the High Street was instead produced from a sketch made by his early patron John Henderson (1764–1843) (see source image TG0843), albeit at one further remove. The amateur artist inscribed and dated his on-the-spot drawing ‘Dartford, July 26 / 94’, and from this sketch Girtin made a pen and ink copy (TG0843), which presumably preceded this larger studio watercolour. The pen and ink study remained in the family until it was bequeathed to the British Museum in 1878, but there is no evidence that the watercolour was ever owned by Henderson. Indeed, it seems to have been commissioned by Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833), at whose house the young Girtin and his contemporary Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) collaborated to produce several hundred copies of the outlines of professional artists, as well as amateurs such as Henderson. Monro’s posthumous sale thus included a ‘View in the Street of Dartford, Indian ink’, which was listed as being by Turner (Exhibitions: Christie’s, 1 July 1833, lot 88). All of the Girtin–Turner copies after Henderson, including as many as a hundred views of Dover, Kent and the south coast, were attributed to Turner at the sale, but there is no doubt that this work was made by Girtin alone. Thus, although it has been sold as by Girtin and Turner together and twice again as by Turner, both the pencil work (which almost exactly replicates the pen and ink copy of Henderson’s original sketch) and the application of a limited range of greys and blues are clearly by Girtin working independently. This is confirmed by the early testimony of Turner’s first biographer, Walter Thornbury (1828–76), who recalled seeing ‘a view of the chief street at Dartford (1794), copied by Girtin after an existing sketch by Mr. Henderson’ (Thornbury, 1862, vol.1, p.98).
The view of Dartford stands out amongst the large group of copies after Henderson’s sketches that Girtin made for Monro for other significant reasons, beyond Turner not being involved in its production. Overlaying images of Henderson’s original sketch, Girtin’s outline copy and the final watercolour shows that the second and third of these were far from straightforward copies and that at each stage Girtin added to and improved his patron’s composition. For instance, Henderson’s sketch only includes the slightest outlines of figures and it was left to Girtin to invest a considerable amount of effort into adding groups of figures and horse-borne traffic when typically he had simply replicated his patron’s perfunctory staffage. Overlaying the images also illustrates how, in addition to adding in much architectural detail that is only hinted at in the original sketch, Girtin successively compressed the composition to create a more concentrated set upon which the figures play out their contrasting roles. It is worth recalling that Girtin was probably engaged at this time in the first versions of his major London street scene St Paul’s Cathedral, from St Martin’s-le-Grand (TG1396), which repeats the composition of the curving, building-lined street shown here with comparable sets of figures in the road and on the pavements. In other words, I take this watercolour to be more than a simple reworking of an amateur’s drawing of a location that Girtin had not visited; the extra level of invention he lavished on it was part of a broader attempt to develop a distinctive iconography of the city and to add the modern street scene to his repertoire of subjects.
1795 - 1796
Dartford High Street
TG0843
1795 - 1796
Dartford High Street
TG0843
1795 - 1796
St Paul’s Cathedral, from St Martin’s-le-Grand
TG1396