This view of York Minster from the south west, with the river Ouse to the left and Lendal Tower in the centre, is one of two versions of a composition that has been the subject of considerable speculation about its origin (the other being TG1047) (Hill, 1996, p.146). Neither of the works was included in Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David Loshak’s catalogue (Girtin and Loshak, 1954) as they only reappeared on the art market after its publication, but when they did so Tom Girtin (1913–94) sought to show that they were worked up from a pencil drawing by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) (see TG1047 figure 1). Noting the similarity of the composition to a drawing that came from the collection of Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833), together with small watercolour on card (see TG1047 figure 2), which may also be by Turner, Tom concluded that his ancestor had been encouraged by his patron to use Turner’s drawing as the basis for a large composition (TG1047) and that this work was a second version of that outcome (Girtin Archive, 40A). However, there is a much simpler, less convoluted explanation for the striking similarities between the Girtin and Turner compositions. Thus, as David Hill has argued, Turner appears to have seen Girtin’s northern sketches prior to his own northern tour in 1797 and, as in the case of the view Durham Cathedral and Castle (see TG1075 figure 1), he adopted Girtin’s viewpoint when he visited the city (Hill, 1996, pp.4–5). Two other York views sketched by Turner, York: Pavement, with the Market Cross and All Saints’ Church (see TG1655 figure 1) and York: The Minster Seen from the River, with St Mary’s Abbey (see TG1049 figure 1), also appear to have been inspired by Girtin’s choice of viewpoint, and I can see no reason why this was not the case with this view of the minster – it is just that Girtin’s pencil drawing has either not been identified or not survived.

The text used when this site went online in 2022 was drafted from a poor quality black and white image and consequently I was uncertain about the attribution of the work. The opportunity to examine the watercolour has led to a significant reappraisal, however. Problems I had with the lack of integration of the foreground and the distance, as well as with the perspective of the Minster itself, can be accounted for by the uneven degree of fading across the sheet which sees the buildings and the vegetation in the lower part of the work retaining a stronger presence than the Minster and the area of sky beyond. Understanding this, I am now convinced that this large and imposing watercolour is an important outcome of the 1796 tour. Indeed, it may be that it was this watercolour and not the very slightly larger version (TG1047) that appeared at the Royal Academy in 1797 as 'View of York’ (one of no.486, no.489, no.499 or no.726). The evidence for this is admittedly inconclusive, but not without some significance. Joseph Farington (1747–1821) noted in his diary that the ‘Academy I went to & looked over pictures – Girtin’s drawings 18 Inches 4 guineas’ (Farington, Diary, 4 June 1797). This drawing does indeed measure roughly 18 in high (45.7 cm) and whilst this is not proof, at the very least it indicates the price that Girtin was able to command for an exhibition watercolour at this date. The price quoted by Farington, presumably garnered from the artist himself, is unlikely to have included the cost of the frame and its glazing, however. This would have had to accommodate the washline mount that Girtin habitually added to his exhibition pieces, part of which still surrounds this drawing. Given that smaller sketch-like works such as Kelso Abbey, from the River Tweed (TG1705) have also retained similar mounts, this is unfortunately not proof that this York view was shown in public. Conversely, the lack of a signature is not a sign that the work was created for private consumption either. Thus, though we might expect a signature to be a crucial element of a work shown in a public exhibition, Girtin only rarely signed his Academy exhibits and so the fact that this work is only inscribed on the back of the mount, albeit with a very ornate 'York Cathed Girtin’, is again of little help in establishing its exhibition status (see figure 1).

None of Girtin’s 1797 exhibits are marked as being for sale in the exhibition catalogue, and from this one might assume that they had been lent by their first owners, patrons who had commissioned works from the artist himself. However, it is likely that Girtin followed the common practice at this time by which artists rarely signalled that they were using the exhibition as a marketplace, preferring to suggest, no doubt erroneously at times, that they had had success in finding patrons for their work (Smith, 2001, p.197). That said, there is no doubt that one of the two versions of this composition was commissioned by Thomas Monro and that it was the ‘drawing by Girtin of York Minster’ that John Linnell (1792–1882) attempted to buy from him in 1820 to sell on. Unfortunately, it is again impossible to say with any degree of certainty if it was this work or TG1047 that was amongst the two hundred ‘drawings framed & glazed’ recorded as being on the walls of Monro’s Adelphi house in 1797 (Farington, Diary, 14 April 1797).¹ Neither does the the copy of the composition by John Henderson (1764–1843) help resolve the issue (see TG1047 figure 3) for although we might have expected Monro to have lent his watercolour to his neighbour it appears to be closer to the slightly larger version that is known today only from a black and white image (TG1047) and it may be that he owned a different Girtin original himself or perhaps borrowed it from another source. It is very frustrating, therefore, that the copy made by Alexander Monro (1802–44) has not been traced as he purchased the Girtin drawing at his father’s posthumous sale and his copy would surely have been made from that version. In the end, therefore, it is not possible to be certain about either the early provenance of this work or its status as an exhibition piece, but for the record, although I have given the same early exhibition and ownership details for both watercolours, I marginally favour Monro as the first owner of TG1047 and this work (TG1048) as the drawing exhibited at the Academy in 1797.

1796 - 1797

York Minster, from the South West

TG1047

1796 - 1797

York Minster, from the South West

TG1047

1797 - 1798

York Minster, from the Ouse, with St Mary’s Abbey

TG1049

1796 - 1797

York Minster, from the South West

TG1047

(?) 1800

Kelso Abbey, from the River Tweed

TG1705

1796 - 1797

York Minster, from the South West

TG1047

1796 - 1797

York Minster, from the South West

TG1047

1796 - 1797

York Minster, from the South West

TG1047

1796 - 1797

York Minster, from the South West

TG1047