Documents: A Year by Year Record of Dated Watercolours and Prints, Early Accounts of the Artist and His Works, Manuscript Material Relating to Sales and Collections

1937 Documents

March 1937

Paul Nash, ‘A Characteristic’, Architectural Record, March 1937, p.40. Writing about Dover Harbour: A Boat under Repair (TG0826) the artist Paul Nash (1899–1946) wrote:

Gainsborough’s painting and the water colors of Cotman and Girtin seem to me admirable examples of a form of poetic expression peculiar to the English genius. But this is not the quality I wish to insist upon here. The portrait group and the sarcophagus are both very intelligently designed but the latter, together with Girtin’s river scene, should be examined for their unique technical power. Here, again, is architecture, a truly architectural use of water-color painting; at which both Cotman and Girtin excelled beyond any artists of any period.

1795 - 1796

Dover Harbour: A Boat under Repair

TG0826