- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- The Valley of the Tweed, with Melrose Abbey in the Distance
- Date
- 1800 - 1801
- Medium and Support
- Watercolour on paper
- Dimensions
- 31.1 × 52.1 cm, 12 ¼ × 20 ½ in
- Object Type
- Studio Watercolour
- Subject Terms
- Monastic Ruins; The Scottish Borders; The View from Above
-
- Collection
- Versions
-
The Valley of the Tweed, with Melrose Abbey in the Distance
(TG1720)
- Catalogue Number
- TG1721
- Description Source(s)
- Witt Library Photograph
Provenance
Probably Elizabeth Leveson-Gower, later Duchess of Sutherland (1765–1839); then by descent to George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland (1888–1963); his sale, Christie's, 9 December 1949, lot 46 as 'The Valley of the Rye with Rievaulx Abbey'; bought by the Fine Art Society, London, £60
Exhibition History
Scarborough, 1950, no.26
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
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
A Mountain Stream with a Watermill and Bridge
Eton College, Windsor
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
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About this Work
This significant late watercolour, which shows the valley of the Tweed in the Scottish Borders, with the ruins of Melrose Abbey in the distance, is based on what appears to be an on-the-spot sketch (TG1720). This was probably produced in 1800 when Girtin is known to have stayed at the nearby seat of the 11th Earl of Buchan (1742–1829) at Dryburgh, on what would have been his second visit to the area (Jenkins, Notes, 1852). Rather surprisingly, the work was not included in Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David Loshak’s catalogue of Girtin’s watercolours (Girtin and Loshak, 1954), but, though it has not been seen in public since soon after its appearance at auction in 1949 and is therefore known only from an old black and white photograph, there can be no doubt about the attribution to Girtin. Even working from an old image, it is clear that the watercolour provides a fascinating example of the artist adapting an on-the-spot sketch to create an attractive studio watercolour, and a composition that deserves to be much better known. The foreground, in particular, has been recast, with the line of the road changed to create a more oblique and serpentine route into the composition, whilst the vegetation has been rearranged to create an enhanced incline that emphasises the isolation of the ruins. Bright sunlight still highlights the abbey, whilst the modern village of Melrose is effectively obscured by a combination of deep shade and trees, but elsewhere the field patterns are brought into clearer focus as a series of diagonals that give the studio work a greater spatial clarity. In another change to the sketch, the artist has extended the composition to the right, including more of the carefully obscured village so that the work conforms to the standard size and format of numerous later watercolours, 31.1 × 52.1 cm (12 ¼ × 20 ½ in).
This final feature is commonly a sign that a watercolour was made by the artist for sale through Samuel William Reynolds (1773–1835), who acted on behalf of the artist in his final years in a role somewhere between agent and dealer. Whilst this may have been the case, other evidence points to a link with one of Girtin’s best-known pupils, Elizabeth Leveson-Gower, later Duchess of Sutherland (1765–1839) (Morris, 2002a, pp.256–57). The watercolour was sold in 1949 by George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland (1888–1963), and it is a reasonable assumption that he inherited the work through the family from the only ancestor of his who is known to have had any association with Girtin. The evidence is far from overwhelming, but it is possible that the work was actually commissioned directly by Lady Sutherland, as she was known during Girtin’s lifetime, and she may have ordered it as a result of seeing the sketch. She appears to have owned at least one other work by Girtin, a view of Kirkby Malham in Yorkshire (TG1690). Though it too could have been supplied by Reynolds, the fact that the amateur is known to have been an ardent supporter of Girtin makes it more likely that she acquired both works from the artist directly. According to the diarist Joseph Farington (1747–1821), ‘Lady Sutherland’ was one of a number of patrons who were ‘disposed to set up Girtin against Turner – who they say effects his purpose by industry – the former more genius’ (Farington, Diary, 9 February 1799). A work such as this view of Melrose, with its economical use of washes and spare composition, seems to fit the latter criterion, and it was presumably this quality that Gower had in mind when she engaged the artist as her teacher.
(?) 1800
The Valley of the Tweed, with Melrose Abbey in the Distance
TG1720
1801
Kirkby Malham
TG1690