- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) after James Moore (1762-1799)
- Title
-
- Lindisfarne Priory Church, Looking West from the Choir
- Date
- 1792 - 1793
- Medium and Support
- Watercolour on paper
- Dimensions
- 46.5 × 34 cm, 18 ¼ × 13 ⅜ in
- Object Type
- Work after an Amateur Artist
- Subject Terms
- Durham and Northumberland; Monastic Ruins
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- TG0210
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 67 as 'Lindisfarne Priory, Northumberland'; '1793–4'
- Description Source(s)
- Auction Catalogue
Provenance
Walker’s Galleries, London, 1921; Matthew H. Horsley; his sale, Christie's, 5 July 1946, lot 72 as 'Lindisfarne, or Holy Island Abbey'; bought by 'Ryman', £35 14s; Christie's, 25 June 1954, lot 15; bought by the Squire Gallery, London, £25 4s
Exhibition History
Walker’s Galleries, 1921, no.57
Place depicted
Other entries in First Steps as a Professional Artist:
James Moore and British Antiquities
An Ancient House, Possibly in Sussex
Newport Museum and Art Gallery
An Interior View of the Ruined East End of Tynemouth Priory Church
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Jedburgh Abbey, from the East
Private Collection
Craigmillar Castle, near Edinburgh
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Front of Exeter Cathedral, and St Mary Major
The Mellon Bank Collection, Pittsburgh
Stonehenge during a Thunderstorm
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The East End of Tynemouth Priory Church
Private Collection
Kidwelly Castle
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
Ludlow Castle: The Gatehouse
Private Collection
Dumbarton Rock and the Castle, from the North West
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Jedburgh Abbey, from the East
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Interior of the Albion Mills, Southwark, after the Fire
Private Collection
Kinloss Abbey: The Abbot's House
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Conwy Castle, Looking West
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Duff House, from the South
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
An Unidentified Round Tower
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
Glasgow Cathedral, from the North East
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Part of the Ruins of Alton Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Front of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
Private Collection
The Albion Mills, Southwark, after the Fire
Newport Museum and Art Gallery
Bamburgh Castle, from the East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ruins of the East End of St Andrews Cathedral
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
Warkworth Castle, from the River Coquet
Touchstones Rochdale
Colchester Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Great Keep, Kenilworth Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Castle Rock, Edinburgh
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
London: The Demolition of the Old Porch of the Guildhall
London Metropolitan Archives
The Gatehouse, Denbigh Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Kirkstall Abbey, from the South East
Private Collection
Buildwas Abbey
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
The West Front of Brechin Cathedral, with the Round Tower
Private Collection
The Great Gate, St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Conwy Castle: The Bakehouse Tower
Private Collection
Lindisfarne Priory Church, Looking West from the Choir
Tate, London
Kirkstall Abbey, from the North West
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Tithe Barn at Abbotsbury, with St Catherine's Chapel on the Hill
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Kirkstall Abbey, from the South East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Dunstaffnage Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Spynie Palace, near Elgin
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Dunnottar Castle in a Thunderstorm
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Part of the Ruins of Croxden Abbey, from the East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Great Keep, Kenilworth Castle, with Leicester's Gatehouse in the Distance
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Battle Church, from the South East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The East End of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
The Gatehouse, Denbigh Castle
Private Collection
The Ruins of Lewes Castle, from the West
Private Collection
Ewell Church, with a Funeral Procession Approaching
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Rustic Figures in a Landscape, with Pigs
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
St Peter's Church, Bexhill, from the East
Private Collection
Warkworth Castle, from the River Coquet
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Cow Grazing near a Pond, with a Church Tower Beyond
Private Collection
Duff House, from the River
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Landscape with a Shepherd and Flock
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
Melrose Abbey, from the South West
Private Collection
A Cottage, Said to Be near Battle in Sussex
Private Collection
Ely Cathedral, from the South East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The East End of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
Private Collection
The East End of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
Private Collection
Lindisfarne Priory Church, Looking West from the Choir
Private Collection, Scotland
Pegwell Bay, near Ramsgate
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Pevensey Castle: The North Tower with the Gatehouse in the Distance
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Spire of Salisbury Cathedral, from Chorister's Green
Private Collection
The Landgate, Rye
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Landgate, Rye
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Gatehouse, Saltwood Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Gatehouse, Saltwood Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Strand Gate, Winchelsea
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The West Tower, All Saints' Church, Hastings
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Rochester Castle, from the South
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Front of Byland Abbey
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
All Saints' Church, Hastings, from the North East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
An Ancient House, Possibly in Sussex
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Kenilworth Castle: The View from the South
Private Collection
Tolleshunt D’Arcy Church
Private Collection
St Peter's Church, Bexhill, from the South East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ruined Gatehouse, Saltwood Castle, Seen from the North
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ruined Gatehouse, Pevensey Castle, from the East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ruined Gatehouse, Pevensey Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Gatehouse, Battle Abbey
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
Carlisle Cathedral, from the South West
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Gatehouse, Battle Abbey
Private Collection
St Mary the Virgin, Eastbourne
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
An Unidentified Landscape with a Figure Seated on a Gate under a Tree
Private Collection
The West Front of Crowland Abbey
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Front of Crowland Abbey
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Pevensey Castle: View of the North and East Towers
Private Collection
The Ruins of the Great Hall, Kenilworth Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
All Saints' Church, Hastings, from the North West
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Refectory, St Martin’s Priory, Dover
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Saltwood Castle: The Gatehouse from a Farmyard
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Spynie Palace: A Coastal View
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
St Clement's Church, with Hastings in the Distance
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The East End of the Church of St Thomas, Winchelsea
Private Collection
The East End of the Church of St Thomas, Winchelsea
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Tower, St Clement's Church, Hastings; Studies of a Horse in Harness and Numerous Architectural Details
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Undercliff, near Hastings
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ypres Tower, Rye
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
An Unidentified Village with a Half-Timbered House
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Hastings: The View across the Beach to Castle Hill
Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
Hastings Castle and Priory Bridge
Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
Tolleshunt D’Arcy Church
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Battle Abbey Gatehouse, from the South West
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
St Clement’s Church, Sandwich, from the North
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
St Peter's Church, Bexhill: The West Tower
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Glasgow Cathedral, from the South West
Bolton Museum and Art Gallery
The East End of Icklesham Church
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Refectory, St Martin’s Priory, Dover
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
The Gatehouse of Beckingham Hall, Tolleshunt Major
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Glamis Castle (Macbeth's Castle)
Private Collection, Norfolk
One of the Alard Monuments in the Church of St Thomas, Winchelsea
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
One of the Alard Monuments in the Church of St Thomas, Winchelsea
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Pegwell Bay, near Ramsgate
Harvard Art Museums / Fogg Museum, Loan from George and Patti White
A Thatched Barn with Farm Animals
Private Collection
A Timber-Frame House with a Hill Beyond
Tate, London
A Farmyard with Pigs Drinking at a Pond
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
A Barn with a Figure, Cattle and Poultry
Courtauld Gallery, London
Malmesbury: The Market Cross
Athelstan Museum, Malmesbury
An Unidentified Country Church and Churchyard
Private Collection, Norfolk
Footnotes
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About this Work
This view of the interior of the church of Lindisfarne Priory at Holy Island, off the Northumberland coast, is one of eight watercolours sold in 1921 that were said to have been commissioned from the young Girtin and that remained in the same family collection until that date (Exhibitions: Walker’s Galleries, 1921). The group includes views of Hereford Cathedral (TG0070 and TG0166), Warwick Castle (TG0168), Chepstow Castle (TG0178), Valle Crucis Abbey (TG0208) and Warkworth Castle (TG0177), none of which the young Girtin could have visited by this time. All of the drawings were made after compositions by his master, Edward Dayes (1763–1804), or, as here, his first patron, James Moore (1762–99). The amateur artist and antiquarian travelled to the north in the summer of 1792 and his sketch of the ruined church looking west is dated 19 August and inscribed ‘Holy Island Cathedral’ (see source image TG0143). In general, Girtin followed Moore’s sketches faithfully, but in this case he cut the composition to the right and converted it to an upright format, taking the opportunity to correct his patron’s faulty perspective, which had made a nonsense of the recession of the nave and the view of the internal facade of the west front. It is unlikely that Girtin worked directly from Moore’s sketch, and in this case a pencil drawing that incorporates the same improvements seen in the early studio watercolour once existed (TG0143). This drawing was destroyed in 1928, but an old photograph records what must have been a common part of the young artist’s practice: the production of an enhanced record of a composition by another artist from which subsequent watercolours might be produced.
The eight watercolours sold together in 1921 form a coherent group in terms of their scale, function and formal language, and the subjects – including ruined castles and abbeys, together with the cathedral of Hereford, each carefully placed in its landscape setting – are linked thematically. None of the works are dated, but there is nothing to suggest that they were not produced at roughly the same time that Girtin is documented as having worked for Moore for a fee of six shillings a day, from October 1792 to February 1793 (Moore, Payments, 1792–93).1 Given the fame and significance of Lindisfarne, it is surprising, initially at least, that Moore himself did not commission a work from Girtin, but in this case the patron turned to the more established watercolourist, Thomas Hearne (1744–1817), who produced a different view of the interior of the ruins, also from one of the amateur’s drawings (see figure 1). This work, like Girtin’s view of Lindisfarne, is significantly larger than the other thirty or so watercolours that Moore commissioned from sketches made on his northern tour in 1792. It appears, therefore, that Girtin made a series of copies of Moore’s compositions even where he did not have a commission from his patron, and that in this case he recognised the pictorial potential of the amateur’s sketch and its suitability for working up on a larger scale for an owner who wished to have a view that could be framed for display on the wall.
1792 - 1793
Hereford Cathedral
TG0070
1792 - 1793
A Distant View of Hereford Cathedral
TG0166
1792 - 1793
The Gatehouse and Barbican, Warwick Castle
TG0168
1795 - 1796
A Cow Grazing near a Pond, with a Church Tower Beyond
TG0178
1792 - 1793
The East End of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
TG0208
1792 - 1793
Warkworth Castle, from the River Coquet
TG0177
1792 - 1793
Lindisfarne Priory Church, Looking West from the Choir
TG0143
1792 - 1793
Lindisfarne Priory Church, Looking West from the Choir
TG0143