- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) after (?) John Henderson (1764-1843)
- Title
-
- Dover Castle, Seen from the Beach
- Date
- 1795 - 1796
- Medium and Support
- Graphite, watercolour and pen and ink on wove paper, on an original mount
- Dimensions
- 20.8 × 28.8 cm, 8 ³⁄₁₆ × 11 ⅜ in
- Mount Dimensions
- 23.5 × 31.4 cm, 9 ¼ × 12 ⅜ in
- Object Type
- Studio Watercolour; Work after an Amateur Artist
- Subject Terms
- Castle Ruins; Coasts and Shipping; Dover and Kent
-
- Collection
- Versions
-
Dover: Beached Boats, with the Castle Beyond
(TG1471)
- Catalogue Number
- TG0263
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001
Provenance
James Moore (1762–99); his widow, Mary Moore (née Howett) (d.1835); bequeathed to Anne Miller (1802–90); bequeathed to Edward Mansel Miller (1829–1912); bequeathed to Helen Louisa Miller (1842–1915); bought by Thomas Girtin (1874–1960), 1912, £12; 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
Cambridge, 1920, no.15 as ’On Dover Beach’ by Thomas Girtin; London, 1962a, no.137 as ’Monro School. Attributed to Thomas Girtin’; Reading, 1969, no.32 as ’Monro School. Attributed to Thomas Girtin’; New Haven, 1986a, no.110 as by Thomas Girtin
Bibliography
Davies, 1924, p.17; Hardie, 1966–68, vol.2, p.6; Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.205 as by Thomas Girtin; YCBA Online as 'Dover' and 'Attributed to Thomas Girtin' (Accessed 05/09/2022)
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
This view of a row of boathouses on the beach at Dover, with the castle beyond, is one of three versions of a composition (the others being TG1471 and figure 1) that was probably copied from an outline drawing by the amateur artist John Henderson (1764–1843) at the home of Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833). Girtin is not known to have visited Dover and all of his views of the town were copied after other artists, including his master, Edward Dayes (1763–1804). Henderson, who visited the port in the autumn of 1794, is known to have lent his ‘outlines’ to Monro so that they might be copied by the young artists the latter patronised (Farington, Diary, 30 December 1794). The ‘outlines of Shipping & Boats’ Henderson made in Dover, described by the diarist Joseph Farington (1747–1821) as ‘Very ingenious & careful’ (Farington, Diary, 1 December 1795), provided the basis for as many as a hundred views of the port and its environs, including the same stretch of buildings seen from the harbour in Dover Harbour: The Stern of a Large Ship, and Smaller Vessels (TG1473), which Girtin produced with his collaborator at Monro’s house, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851).
Although the Dover subjects produced at Monro’s home were attributed to Turner at the patron’s posthumous sale in 1833, many of those that have since been identified are, as with the other version of this composition, now given jointly to Girtin and Turner. There is no evidence that this work was sold at the Monro sale, however, and nor too is there any indication that Turner was involved in its production. The pencil work is clearly by Girtin, but he too seems to have been responsible for the colour washes, which are too summary and unmodulated for Turner; moreover, the drawing employs a very different palette from the blues and greys of the typical Monro School Dover subjects to which Turner contributed. The more naturalistic colouring encouraged the artist’s great-grandson, Thomas Girtin (1874–1960), and David Loshak to include this ‘transitional’ work in their catalogue as one of a handful of Monro School subjects that are ‘wholly the work of Girtin’ (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.205). It appears, therefore, that in addition to producing an outline for Turner to copy, Girtin was sufficiently taken by Henderson’s composition to make a version for himself, possibly as a source for a future studio watercolour.
Overlaying images of this more colourful work and TG1471 shows that as well as making a number of adjustments to the composition, Girtin added a number of figures, including a fisherman who, having climbed the ladder, is shown securing a sail on the roof to dry. This is just the sort of marine activity that Henderson delighted in recording, so perhaps Girtin excluded the detail in the version for Turner to colour for Monro. In fact, there is some evidence not only that Monro was not the recipient of Girtin’s drawing but also that it ended up in the possession of his other major early patron, James Moore (1762–99), and as such the work is of some significance. The artist’s great-grandson records that the work was bought from Moore’s descendants (Girtin Archive, 39), and if that was the case it is likely that Girtin coloured his outline drawing specifically for a patron who owned and appreciated drawings such as An Interior View of the Ruins of the Savoy Hospital (TG0240), which similarly purports to be a spontaneous sketch. Given that Girtin did not visit Dover and that the outline drawing must have been copied from a secondary source, what we appear to be looking at is an early example of a commodity that the artist developed around 1796: a colour work produced in the studio with much of the apparent dispatch and spontaneity of an on-the-spot sketch.
Of the two other versions of this composition, much the stronger is that in the collection of The Whitworth, Manchester (see figure 1). Indeed there is some doubt about the status of the drawing catalogued as TG1471, with the differences in details and proportion, as well as its poor quality, suggesting that it might even be the Henderson source from which Girtin developed his altogether more sophisticated work. The Whitworth watercolour, in contrast, displays clear evidence of Girtin’s superior draughtsmanship, but although the washes of colour are not of the highest standard, I am still inclined to believe that this is one of the more reticent examples of Turner’s contribution to their collaborations at Monro’s home.
1795 - 1796
Dover: Beached Boats, with the Castle Beyond
TG1471
1795 - 1796
Dover Harbour: The Stern of a Large Ship, and Smaller Vessels
TG1473
1795 - 1796
Dover: Beached Boats, with the Castle Beyond
TG1471
1795 - 1796
An Interior View of the Ruins of the Savoy Hospital
TG0240
1795 - 1796
Dover: Beached Boats, with the Castle Beyond
TG1471