- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- On the River Taw, North Devon, Looking from Braunton Marsh towards Instow and Appledore
- Date
- (?) 1800
- Medium and Support
- Graphite and watercolour on laid paper
- Dimensions
- 29.3 × 51.6 cm, 11 ½ × 20 ¼ in
- Inscription
‘Girtin’ lower centre, by Thomas Girtin
- Object Type
- Samuel William Reynolds: Dealer; Studio Watercolour
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- TG1736
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 318 as 'On the Exe (probably near the mouth)'; '1799'
- Description Source(s)
- Sale Catalogue; Gallery Website
Provenance
Samuel William Reynolds (1773–1835) (1803 list of works disposed of: 'Linmouth' sold with four other work for £50); bought by Elizabeth Weddell (née Ramsden) (1749–1831), December 1801; bequeathed to John Charles Ramsden (1788–1836); then by descent to Sir John Frechville Ramsden, 6th Baronet (1877–1958); his sale, Christie’s, 27 May 1932, lot 22 as 'A View at the Mouth of a River, with cottages, a woman milking a cow in the foreground'; bought by 'Thomson' of the Palser Gallery, London, £84, for Charles E. Russell; Mark Fletcher Washington; his sale, Sotheby's, 30 November 1960, lot 78 as 'A Fishing Village on an estuary at low tide, a group of cows with a milkmaid in the foreground'; bought by Frost and Reed, £2,100; Miss K. G. Robinson; her posthumous sale, Sotheby’s, 21 November 1985, lot 97 as 'A Village on the River Exe', £55,000; the Leger Galleries, London, 1986; bought by the Gallery from them, 1987
Exhibition History
Leger Galleries, 1986, no.9 as ’A View on the River Taw looking from Braunton Marsh towards Instow and Appledore’; Washington, 2006, no catalogue
Bibliography
Sotheby’s, Art at Auction, 1985–86, p.48; Leger Galleries, 1992, p.84 as 'The River Taw, looking Towards Appledore'; Smiles and Pidgley, 1995, p.61, p.116; Smith, 2002b, pp.257–58; Chu, 2003, pp.189–90; Gallery Website as 'Village along a River Estuary in Devon', '1797/98' (Accessed 19/09/2022)
Place depicted
Other entries in Late Watercolours:
Samuel William Reynolds and Painting for the Art Market

An Imaginary City, with Antique Buildings
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence

Ancient Ruins, with an Obelisk
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Ancient Ruins, with a Gothic Church
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

A Classical Composition, with a Church and Column
Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool

The Arch of Janus, Rome
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

The Temple of Clitumnus
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Rome: The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Rome: The Temple of Saturn, with the Arch of Septimius Severus
Private Collection

A Town on an Estuary
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence

A Lagoon Capriccio
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery

An Unidentified Coastal Landscape with a Windmill
Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight

Barnard Castle, from the River Tees
Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle

A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

An Exterior View of the Ruins of Lindisfarne Priory Church
Lindisfarne Priory, Northumberland (English Heritage)

Kelso Abbey: The West Front
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

Jedburgh Abbey, from the Riverbank
The Higgins, Bedford

On the River Medway, with a Boatyard, Beached Vessels and Hulks
Private Collection

Bisham Abbey, on the River Thames
Private Collection

A Classical Composition, with Figures Admiring the Sculptures
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

An Unidentified Ruin next to a Bridge over a Stream, Said to Be Furness Abbey
Touchstones Rochdale

The Gatehouse of Morpeth Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Buildings on the River Nidd, near Knaresborough
British Museum, London

Kirkstall Abbey, from Kirkstall Hill
British Museum, London

Kirkstall Abbey, from Kirkstall Bridge, Morning
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Kirkstall Abbey, from the Canal, Evening
Private Collection

A Distant View of Kirkstall Abbey
Williamson Art Gallery & Museum, Birkenhead

An Unidentified Scene, Formerly Known as ‘Kirkstall Village’
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Wetherby Bridge and Mills, Looking across the Weir
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Wetherby: Looking through the Bridge to the Mills
British Museum, London

Wetherby: Looking through the Bridge to the Mills
Leeds Art Gallery

Kirk Deighton, near Wetherby
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

York: The New Walk on the Banks of the River Ouse
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

York: The Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

York: The Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern
Private Collection

York Minster from the South East, Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern to the Right
Private Collection

A Farmyard with Barns, Ladder and Figures; A Sky Study
Courtauld Gallery, London

Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Leeds Art Gallery

Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery

A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell
Private Collection

Ripon Minster, from the South East
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Ripon Minster, from the South West
Private Collection

The Abbey Mill, near Knaresborough
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

A Mountain Stream in Spate, Possibly the River Wharfe
Private Collection

Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church from across the River Wharfe
Eton College, Windsor

Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church, from across the River Wharfe
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff

Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church, from across the River Wharfe
Leeds Art Gallery

Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Private Collection

Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Private Collection

The Banks of the River Wharfe, with Bolton Abbey in the Distance
Private Collection

Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe, near Bolton Abbey
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe, near Bolton Abbey
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Storiths Heights, near Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

Richmond Castle, from the River Swale
Leeds Art Gallery

A Farmhouse in Malhamdale, Known as 'Kirkby Priory, near Malham'
British Museum, London

An Ancient Oak, Said to Be on the River Ure
Private Collection

Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery

Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Private Collection, Norfolk

Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Private Collection

Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Guisborough Priory: The Ruined East End
Tate, London

A Distant View of Guisborough Priory; The Tithe Barn, Abbotsbury
Private Collection, Norfolk

A Distant View of Guisborough Priory
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

A Distant View of Guisborough Priory
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Private Collection

A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Kelso Abbey, from the River Tweed
Private Collection

Warkworth Castle, from the River Coquet
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

An Upland Landscape, Said to Show Etal Castle
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The River Tweed at Kelso, Looking Upstream
Courtauld Gallery, London

The Eildon Hills, from the River Tweed
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

A Distant View of Dryburgh Abbey, with the Eildon Hills Beyond
Private Collection

The Valley of the Tweed, with Melrose Abbey in the Distance
Private Collection

Jedburgh Abbey, from Jed Water
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

Jedburgh Abbey, from the South East
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

The Village of Jedburgh
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Southampton: The South Gate and Old Gaol
Private Collection

Bristol Harbour, with St Mary Redcliffe in the Distance
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery

A Wharf with Shipping, Possibly at Bristol
Art Institute of Chicago

A Rainbow over the River Exe
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

A Rainbow over the River Exe
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino

A Rainbow over the River Exe
Graves Gallery, Sheffield

Lydford Castle, from the River Lyd
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

St Vincent’s Rocks and the Avon Gorge
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

On the River Taw, North Devon, Looking from Braunton Marsh towards Instow and Appledore
National Gallery of Art, Washington

Conwy Castle, from the River Gyffin
Private Collection, Norfolk

Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea (The White House, Chelsea)
Tate, London

Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea
Private Collection, Norfolk

A Panoramic Landscape, with Figures Trawling a Pond
Private Collection

Landscape with a Distant Ridge, Possibly Hampstead Heath
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

An Inn Yard, Edgware Road, Paddington
British Museum, London

The Thames from a Window of the Old Toy Inn, Hampton Court
British Museum, London

The Old Cottage, Widmore, near Bromley
British Museum, London

Shipping on the River Medway
Museum of New Zealand, Wellington

A Farmyard with Cattle, Poultry and Labourers Unloading Hay, Possibly Pinkney's Farm, Wimbish
Art Institute of Chicago

Farmhouse and Outbuildings, Possibly in Essex
Aberdeen Art Gallery

An Unidentified Village Street with a Church Tower in the Distance
British Museum, London

A Panoramic Landscape, Possibly Showing Primrose Hill, London
Private Collection

Unidentified Landscape with a Distant Rain Shower
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff

Warkworth Church, with the Bridge Beyond
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

An Italianate Landscape with Two Monks
Private Collection
Footnotes
- 1 Both letters have been transcribed in full in the Documents section of the Archive (1801 – Item 4; 1803 – Item 3).
- 2 A list of subscribers is included in John Girtin’s account of the income he received from the Picturesque Views in Paris, together with the expenses incurred in completing the project. They are transcribed in the Documents section of the Archive (1804 – Item 1).
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About this Work
Although this work has been said to depict a village on the river Exe, it has more recently been identified as showing a scene on the river Taw in north Devon, looking south from Braunton Marsh (Leger Galleries, 1986). The village of Instow is therefore visible in the centre, seen just before the confluence with the river Torridge, with Appledore to the right. This is therefore one of three local views that were either sketched on Girtin’s visit to the north Devon coast in 1797 (TG1281) or made from drawings taken on that newly documented stop (TG1737). The recently discovered accounts of the artist’s brother, John Girtin (1773–1821), which record that he sent a £5 note to him at ‘Biddeford’ on 21 November, date Girtin’s visit to nearby Instow with some precision, therefore, and suggest that he stayed with Rowland Edward Calvert (c.1750–1813), who was living in Bideford at the time (Smith, 2017–18, pp.35–36; Chancery, Income and Expenses, 1804). Calvert, who was the father of the artist Edward Calvert (1799–1883), appears to have been the first owner of the view of Appledore (TG1737), and it was he who presumably commissioned the view and encouraged Girtin to explore the area. At the time of Girtin’s visit in 1797, this part of the north Devon coast was beginning to attract visitors, though poor transport links meant that it was not yet a popular destination for tourists, and, if the artist was for once in the vanguard of travellers, it was almost certainly with the support of a local patron such as Calvert.
It might be expected that a local man would have been interested in a view that carefully records some of the details of the ship-building trade, with a half-built vessel shown on the blocks to the left. However, this work was actually produced by Girtin in 1800 for Samuel William Reynolds (1773–1835), who acted on behalf of the artist in his final years in a role somewhere between agent and dealer, and it conforms to the larger of the two standard sizes that Girtin painted for disposal on open market. A letter from Reynolds records that in October 1801 he owned ‘Drawings by Girtin … 19 Large size’ and that he valued them at ‘£7. 7 each’, whilst a later document notes that watercolours such as this sold for about £10 each (Reynolds, Letter, 1801; Reynolds, Letter, 1803).1 The latter document identifies the first owner of this drawing as Elizabeth Weddell (1749–1831), who acquired five of Girtin’s works for £50, including Lydford Castle (TG1734) and one listed as ‘Linmouth’, which is presumably this watercolour. The fact that the watercolour of Lydford had already lost its identity is telling because it is unlikely that Weddell either visited the area or knew much about the locality, and the works she acquired were likely to have been bought not for the subjects they depicted but as examples of the artist’s superior skills as an artist; certainly, she had no input into the work. Weddell is known to have owned six major watercolours as well as a proof set of the Picturesque Views in Paris, and all, excepting this work, are in excellent condition (Chancery, Income and Expenses).2 Given that they are likely to have each been treated in the same way, it is safe to assume that this watercolour has faded because of the artist’s choice of pigments rather than because it has been exposed to excessive levels of lighting. Thus, the greys and the blues of the sky and the clouds have been lost altogether, whilst the greens in the foreground and distance have also been badly compromised, though the fact that a small band in the middle ground has been relatively unaffected highlights the extraordinary degree to which the artist fitted what amounts to a greatly extended panoramic view into a conventional format.
The watercolour was copied by Julia Bennet (1775–1867), who was known as one of Girtin’s best pupils (see figure 1), and she inscribed it on the back ‘After Girtin, a very good drawing master’ (Morris, 2002a, p.257). Bennet, who is now known by her married name of Gordon, almost certainly gained access to the work through her friendship with Weddell, who was her neighbour at Beckenham in Kent. Curiously, though the copy replicates the buildings and the animals in the foreground, it omits the ships and the ship-building scene altogether.
(?) 1797
The Estuary of the River Taw
TG1281
(?) 1800
Appledore, from Instow Sands
TG1737
(?) 1800
Appledore, from Instow Sands
TG1737
(?) 1800
Lydford Castle, from the River Lyd
TG1734