- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) and Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) after (?) James Moore (1762-1799)
- Title
-
- Mickleham Church
- Date
- 1794 - 1797
- Medium and Support
- Graphite and watercolour on wove paper, on an early mount
- Dimensions
- 21.1 × 28.7 cm, 8 ¼ × 11 ¼ in
- Mount Dimensions
- 25 x 32.5 cm, 9 ⅞ × 12 ¾ in
- Object Type
- Collaborations; Monro School Copy; Work after an Amateur Artist
- Subject Terms
- Gothic Architecture: Parish Church; Surrey View
-
- Collection
- Versions
-
Mickleham Church
(TG0351)
- Catalogue Number
- TG0860
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 124i as by Thomas Girtin; '1795'
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in December 2017
Provenance
Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833); his posthumous sale, Christie's, 26 June 1833, lot 100 as 'Boxhill, Hadley, and Mickleham churches, &c. 4' by 'Turner'; bought by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), £2 5s; accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest, 1856
Exhibition History
Bibliography
Finberg, 1909, vol.2, p.1234 as by Thomas Girtin; Brown, 1982, pp.333–34; Turner Online as by Joseph Mallord William Turner and Thomas Girtin, c.1796 (Accessed 13/09/2022)
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 the church of St Michael and All Angels in Mickleham in Surrey is one of two watercolours showing the building from the north east (the other being TG0351). The drawing was bought at the posthumous sale of Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833) by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) and can be identified as one of the four items in lot 100 that were identified as being by ‘TURNER, R.A.’ (Exhibitions: Christie’s, 26 June 1833, lot 100). However, the online catalogue of the Turner Bequest describes the work as a collaboration with Girtin, who it says provided the pencil outline for his colleague to add simple washes of blue and grey. In contrast, Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David Loshak, the authors of the 1954 catalogue of Girtin’s watercolours, thought that the work was by him alone, and they dated it to 1795, though they did not explain why (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.151). Presumably, it was because they believed that the work, unlike the vast majority of the Girtin–Turner collaborations produced for Monro, was not copied from another source, and that instead it was sketched by Girtin on the spot. This is certainly a possibility, given that Mickleham is close to Fetcham, where Monro rented a cottage between the years of 1795 and 1805, and there is even evidence that Girtin visited his patron there. John Linnell (1792–1882), who knew Monro at a slightly later date, claimed that he took Girtin, as well as Turner, ‘out to one or other of his country houses or elsewhere to sketch for him from Nature’ (Story, 1892, vol.1, p.41), and the catalogue of his posthumous sale lists a number of other Surrey scenes by Girtin, including views of nearby Box Hill as well as Norbury Park, together with the local churches of Effingham (TG0345) and Capel (TG0857) (Exhibitions: Christie’s, 1 July 1833, lots 112, 114, 116 and 119).
Having admitted such a possibility, I am nonetheless inclined to favour the idea that this work does not depart from the typical Monro School collaborations between Girtin and Turner, not least because both the pencil drawing and the washes of colour are closely comparable with the less heavily worked of the many architectural studies the artists produced, such as Rome: Unidentified Ruins on the Palatine Hill (TG0531). Certainly, the patron treated this work in the same way, mounting it with a simple border as with the similarly sized views of the Savoy Hospital (TG0368 and TG0369), which likewise must have been bound in a volume at some stage. More to the point, I am increasingly sure that this work, like a substantial majority of the Monro School collaborations, was copied from a secondary source and was not studied on the spot. An earlier image of Mickleham church (see figure 1), not known to Girtin and Loshak, but which Girtin is likely to have had access to, could have provided the artist with the basis for his drawing with only a few modifications to the landscape setting. However, a more probable alternative also presents itself, for, although the credit line on the aquatint does not mention it, the drawing on which the print was based, by Joseph Charles Barrow (c.1759–1804), was almost certainly made after a lost sketch by Girtin’s first significant patron, the amateur artist and antiquarian James Moore (1762–99). Girtin made more than sixty watercolours after Moore’s sketches, and at least a dozen of the amateur’s fairly crude outline drawings also formed the basis of drawings in Monro’s collection, including the view of Kidwelly that was also engraved for the same publication (see TG0264 figure 1). I suspect that Girtin had access to Moore’s untraced sketch and that this was the source for Mickleham Church. That would certainly account for the uncertain perspective in this version of the composition, which is noticeably better in the print.
1795 - 1796
Mickleham Church
TG0351
1797 - 1798
Effingham Church
TG0345
1797 - 1798
Capel Church
TG0857
1794 - 1797
Rome: Unidentified Ruins on the Palatine Hill
TG0531
1795 - 1796
An Exterior View of Part of the Ruins of the Savoy Hospital
TG0368
1795 - 1796
An Interior View of the Ruins of the Savoy Hospital
TG0369