- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- (?) Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851)
- Title
-
- Knaresborough, from the River Nidd
- Date
- 1797 - 1798
- Medium and Support
- Watercolour on paper
- Dimensions
- 7.6 × 12.1 cm, 3 × 4 ¾ in
- Object Type
- Colour Sketch: Studio Work
- Subject Terms
- River Scenery; Yorkshire View
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- TG1397
- Description Source(s)
- Auction Catalogue
Provenance
Walter C. Hetherington (d.1978); his posthumous sale, Christie’s, 14 February 1978, lot 59 with TG0791 as by Thomas Girtin, £240; Tom Girtin (1913–94); his sale, Sotheby's, 14 November 1991, lot 102 as by Joseph Mallord William Turner
Bibliography
Wilton, 1984a, p.12
Place depicted
Other entries in Topography without Travel:
The British Landscape at Second Hand

Windsor Castle, from the River Thames
Untraced Works

Windsor Castle: The Norman Gateway and the Round Tower, with Part of the Queen's Lodge
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

The Interior of Tintern Abbey, Showing the Choir and North Transept
Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery

A View in Windsor Great Park with Deer
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

An Ancient House, Possibly in Sussex
Private Collection

The Interior of Tintern Abbey, Looking towards the West Window from the Choir
Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery

The Ruins of Newark Priory Church
Tate, London

Lancaster Castle and Priory Church, Seen with the Old Bridge over the River Lune
Private Collection

Barnard Castle and Bridge, from the River Tees
Tate, London

The Ruined West Front of Dunbrody Abbey Church, County Wexford, Ireland
Tate, London

The Refectory of Walsingham Priory
British Museum, London

The Ruined East End of Walsingham Priory Church
Tate, London

The West Tower of Rumburgh Priory Church
Tate, London

Dumbarton Rock, from the North
Tate, London

Part of the Ruins of Middleham Castle
Tate, London

Kidwelly Church, with the Castle Beyond
Tate, London

Kelso Abbey, from the North West
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

The Keep, Portchester Castle, from the North East
Tate, London

The Keep of Rochester Castle, from the South East
Tate, London

Part of the Ruins of Middleham Castle
Tate, London

Margam Abbey Church, from the North West
Tate, London

The Ruined East End of Walsingham Priory Church
Tate, London

The Ruins of the Holy Ghost Chapel, Basingstoke
Tate, London

The Medieval Kitchen, Stanton Harcourt
Tate, London

Part of the Ruins of Lewes Castle, from the West
Tate, London

Glasgow High Street, Looking towards the Cathedral
Tate, London

The Keep of Hedingham Castle, from the East
Tate, London

The South Transept, Much Wenlock Priory Church
Tate, London

Newport Castle, Monmouthshire
Private Collection

Portchester Castle, from the Outer Bailey
Tate, London

The Refectory of Walsingham Priory
Tate, London

An Unidentified Church close to a Road
British Museum, London

The Keep of Hedingham Castle, from the South West
Tate, London

Kirkstall Abbey, from the North West
Tate, London

Kirkstall Abbey, from the North West
Tate, London

The Ruined Gateway of Mettingham Castle
Tate, London

The Keep of Rochester Castle, Seen from outside the Walls
Tate, London

Tintern Abbey, from the River Wye
Private Collection

Tintern Abbey: The View from the Nave
Private Collection

The Market at Aberystwyth
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Lancaster Castle, from the River Lune
Tate, London

Lancaster Castle, from the River Lune
Tate, London

Lancaster Priory Church, Seen with the Old Bridge over the River Lune
Tate, London

Buttermere Bridge, from the Fish Inn
Tate, London

The Medieval Kitchen, Stanton Harcourt
Private Collection, Norfolk

Rochester Cathedral, from the North East, with the Castle Beyond
Tate, London

Glasgow High Street: Looking towards the Cathedral
Tate, London

A Distant View of Corfe Castle
Tate, London

Chichester Cathedral, from the South West
Tate, London

The Gatehouse of Amberley Castle
Tate, London

A Lake and Mountains, Possibly in the Lake District
Tate, London

A Lake and Mountains, Possibly in the Lake District
Tate, London

An Unidentified View across a Lake, or along a Coast
Tate, London

A Road by a Pond, with a Church in the Distance
Tate, London

A Road by a Pond, with a Church in the Distance
British Museum, London

A Church Tower amongst Trees, with a Cart in the Foreground
British Museum, London

An Unidentified Landscape, with a Church amongst Trees
Tate, London

Trees near a Lake or River, at Twilight
Tate, London

A Hilly Landscape, with a Two-Arched Bridge
Private Collection

A Distant View of Tynemouth Priory, from the Sea
Tate, London

An Upland Landscape, Possibly in Northumberland
Private Collection

A Bridge in the Lake District, Possibly Grange Bridge, Borrowdale
Private Collection

Bridgnorth, on the River Severn
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino

Knaresborough, from the River Nidd
Private Collection
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About this Work
This watercolour was sold in 1978 with an attribution to Girtin on the not unreasonable grounds that it bears a striking resemblance to a pencil sketch of Knaresborough that is certainly in the artist’s hand (TG1511); moreover, the size and the sketch-like appearance of the work relate it to the twenty or so small watercolours that Girtin executed for Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833). The watercolour reappeared at auction a few years later with an attribution to Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), however. In the meantime, Andrew Wilton had published his important article on the Monro School, which argues that the watercolour is based on a drawing in the Turner Bequest that was made on Turner’s tour to the north east in 1797 and that it therefore dates from 1797–98 (Wilton, 1984a, p.12) (see figure 1). Given that Girtin probably did not visit Knaresborough until 1799 at the earliest, Wilton’s argument appears to be correct and the similarity between the watercolour and Girtin’s drawing can be explained by the fact that both young artists took their view from the High Bridge looking east. It seems, therefore, that what began as a project to produce a group of small watercolours on card from outlines made after James Moore (1762–99), Girtin’s early patron, was expanded to include a new set of sketch-like drawings by Turner, the subjects of which were taken from his sketchbooks.
1799 - 1800
Knaresborough Castle, from the High Bridge
TG1511