Edward Dayes (1763 - 1804)
Edward Dayes (1763–1804) (see TG1924 figure 1) was one of the leading topographical watercolourists of the older generation, producing impressive works such as Hereford Cathedral from the River (see TG0155 figure 1) and oils including Rochester (see TG0071 figure 1). Moreover, Dayes was a noted writer on both the technical and theoretical bases of the visual arts, and he must have appeared to be the ideal master for a young aspiring artist. Girtin signed his indentures as an apprentice to ‘Edwd Days St Martins in the Fields Middx painter’ on 15 May 1789 ‘to serve 7 years’, with his family paying a dividend of thirty guineas.1 Girtin, aged fourteen years and three months at the time of his move to Dayes’ studio at 75 Long Acre, Covent Garden, would therefore have become a master in May 1796 if he had completed his term, but this was not to happen. Although an early account of his time as an apprentice suggested that Dayes had Girtin arrested and imprisoned for breaking the terms of his apprenticeship, it is increasingly clear that the two came to an agreement by which the young artist paid off his indentures by producing watercolours for sale on the open market (Thornbury, 1862, vol.1, pp.102–3.2 In all, Dayes thus consigned more than thirty drawings by Girtin to the sale rooms of Thomas Greenwood, beginning as early as June 1791, when the artist was only sixteen. Amongst the works sold was almost certainly a recently discovered view, Rochester Castle, from the River Medway (TG0057), which suggests that by 1792 Girtin had little more to learn from his master, so thoroughly had the precociously talented student assimilated Dayes’ distinctive style. It is also clear that the humdrum tasks allocated to the apprentice, such as colouring Dayes’ prints (TG0061), further stretched the relationship between master and pupil. Typically of the young artist’s works at this time, the Rochester view, one of four of the Kent city, was made from a sketch by Dayes (see TG0057 figure 1), and indeed a large proportion of the works produced in his master’s studio were based on his outline drawings. This would continue to be the case for the next few years, until the patronage of James Moore (1762–99) and others enabled Girtin to travel outside London, firstly in 1794 and then again in 1796. Nonetheless, Girtin continued to use his former master’s sketches as a valuable resource. Working at the home of Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833) around 1795–96, Girtin made copies of some of the numerous sketches by Dayes that were in the collection of his new patron (TG0362).
Dayes’ typically abrasive opinion on Girtin is preserved in a short biography that was published posthumously following the master’s suicide in May 1804. ‘Biography’, he wrote, ‘is useful to … enable us to shun the fatal consequences of vice’, suggesting that in this case Girtin had allowed his ‘passions to overpower … reason’. ‘Though his drawings are generally too slight’, Dayes continued, ‘yet they must ever be admired as the offspring of a strong imagination. Had he not trifled away a vigorous constitution, he might have arrived at a very high degree of excellence as a landscape painter’ (Dayes, Works, p.329). Dayes’ Professional Sketches of Modern Artists was published posthumously in 1805 in The Works of the Late Edward Dayes edited by Edward Wedlake Brayley. The sharply critical biography of ‘GIRTIN THOMAS. – LANDSCAPE’ is transcribed in full in the Documents section of the Archive.3 From our perspective, it is clear that it is precisely because Girtin was able to favour ‘passions’ and ‘imagination’ over ‘reason’ that he was able to transcend the example of his master, and it is no small part of his achievement that he was able to effectively terminate his apprenticeship at the age of seventeen or eighteen.
1800 - 1805
Portrait of Thomas Girtin
TG1924
1793
Hereford Cathedral, from the River Wye
TG0155
1791 - 1792
Rochester, from the North
TG0071
(?) 1791
Rochester Castle, from the River Medway
TG0057
1792
First Regiment of Foot Guards, 1660: Officer and Subaltern
TG0061
(?) 1791
Rochester Castle, from the River Medway
TG0057
1795 - 1796
Raby Castle
TG0362
Footnotes
- 1 The National Archives (IR1/33)
- 2 Thornbury’s biography of Turner includes extensive anecdotal detail about Girtin’s life and career and although the text is often frankly fanciful in character it contains some useful details and the sections relating to Girtin have been transcribed in the Documents section of the Archive (1862 – Item 1).
- 3 1805 – Item 1
Related works
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Edward Dayes
Durham Cathedral, from the River Wear
The Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg
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Edward Dayes
Eton College, from the River
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
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Edward Dayes
Rochester, from the River Medway
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
-
Edward Dayes
The Interior of Buildwas Abbey Church
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
-
Edward Dayes
Westminster Bridge, from the North East
Untraced Works
-
Edward Dayes
The Queen’s Palace, or Buckingham House
Royal Collection Trust (Windsor)
-
Edward Dayes
Harrow Common
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
-
Edward Dayes
Marlow, from across the River Thames
Private Collection
-
Edward Dayes
Tynemouth Priory, from the Coast
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
-
Edward Dayes
Rochester Castle, from the River Medway
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
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Edward Dayes
Tintern Abbey, from the River Wye
Courtauld Gallery, London
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Edward Dayes
'First Regiment of Foot Guards, 1660': Officer and Subaltern
British Museum, London
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Edward Dayes
'First Regiment of Foot Guards, 1660': Sergeant and Private
British Museum, London
-
Edward Dayes
First Regiment of Foot Guards, 1660: Drummer and Private
Brown University Library, Providence, Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection
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Edward Dayes
'Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, 1650': Officer and Sergeant
British Museum, London
-
Edward Dayes
'Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, 1650': Sergeant and Private
British Museum, London
-
Edward Dayes
Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, 1650: Drummer and Corporal
Brown University Library, Providence, Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection
-
Edward Dayes
'Third Regiment of Foot Guards, 1660': Officer and Sergeant
British Museum, London
-
Edward Dayes
'Third Regiment of Foot Guards, 1660': Grenadier and Private
British Museum, London
-
Edward Dayes
Third Regiment of Foot Guards, 1660: Drummer and Private
Brown University Library, Providence, Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection
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Edward Dayes
Llanthony Priory
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
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Edward Dayes
The River Wye at New Weir
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
Hereford Cathedral
Hereford Museum and Art Gallery
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Edward Dayes
Rochester, from the North
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
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Edward Dayes
The View from the Great Boathouse, Lake Windermere
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
The Dover Mail, Dover Castle in the Distance
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
Rochester Cathedral and Castle, from the North East
Eton College, Windsor
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Edward Dayes
Worcester, from the River Severn
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
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Edward Dayes
Lake Windermere and Belle Isle
Wordsworth Grasmere (Dove Cottage and Wordsworth Museum)
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Edward Dayes
Jedburgh Abbey, from the East
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
A Cottage on the Solent
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
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Edward Dayes
The West Front of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
Hereford Cathedral, from the River Wye
Hereford Museum and Art Gallery
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Edward Dayes
An Upland Landscape with a Rainbow, Said to Be Lowther Fells
Kendal Town Hall
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Edward Dayes
The River Thames at Putney
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
A Distant View of Hereford Cathedral
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
The Gatehouse and Barbican, Warwick Castle
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
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Edward Dayes
Chepstow Castle, from the River Wye
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
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Edward Dayes
Llanthony Priory
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
The Interior of a Ruined Abbey Church
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
The High Rocks, near Tunbridge Wells
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
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Edward Dayes
The Interior of Tintern Abbey, Looking towards the West Window from the Choir
Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery
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Edward Dayes
The Spire of Salisbury Cathedral, from Chorister's Green
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
Durham Cathedral, from the River Wear
Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne
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Edward Dayes
Lancaster Castle and Priory Church, Seen with the Old Bridge over the River Lune
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
Barnard Castle and Bridge, from the River Tees
Tate, London
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Edward Dayes
The West Gate, Canterbury
Tate, London
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Edward Dayes
All Saints' Church, Marlow
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
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Edward Dayes
The Bridge at Appleby
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
All Saints' Church, Marlow
Tate, London
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Edward Dayes
The Keep, Portchester Castle, from the North East
Tate, London
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Edward Dayes
The Keep of Rochester Castle, from the South East
Tate, London
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Edward Dayes
Margam Abbey Church, from the North West
Tate, London
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Edward Dayes
The Bridge at Appleby
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
The Keep of Hedingham Castle, from the East
Tate, London
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Edward Dayes
Portchester Castle, from the Outer Bailey
Tate, London
-
Edward Dayes
The Keep of Hedingham Castle, from the South West
Tate, London
-
Edward Dayes
The Keep of Rochester Castle, Seen from outside the Walls
Tate, London
-
Edward Dayes
Lancaster Castle, from the River Lune
Tate, London
-
Edward Dayes
Lancaster Priory Church, Seen with the Old Bridge over the River Lune
Tate, London
-
Edward Dayes
Buttermere Bridge, from the Fish Inn
Tate, London
-
Edward Dayes
The Medieval Kitchen, Stanton Harcourt
Private Collection, Norfolk
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Edward Dayes
Legburthwaite Vale
British Museum, London
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Edward Dayes
Raby Castle
Tate, London
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Edward Dayes
Rochester Cathedral, from the North East, with the Castle Beyond
Tate, London
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Edward Dayes
A Distant View of Corfe Castle
Tate, London
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Edward Dayes
Chichester Cathedral, from the South West
Tate, London
-
Edward Dayes
A Lake and Mountains, Possibly in the Lake District
Tate, London
-
Edward Dayes
An Unidentified View across a Lake, or along a Coast
Tate, London
-
Edward Dayes
A Road by a Pond, with a Church in the Distance
Tate, London
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Edward Dayes
A Church Tower amongst Trees, with a Cart in the Foreground
British Museum, London
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Edward Dayes
An Unidentified Landscape, with a Church amongst Trees
Tate, London
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Edward Dayes
An Upland Scene with a Wooded Valley
Leeds University Art Gallery
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Edward Dayes
A View near Keswick, Probably Bassenthwaite Lake
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
Skiddaw and Bassenthwaite Lake, from the Vale of Newlands
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
Looking South into Borrowdale, from the Shore of Derwentwater
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
Mountainous Landscape, Possibly in the Lake District
Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool
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Edward Dayes
Boon Crag Cottage, with Coniston Water Beyond
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
A View in Cumbria, Probably Looking from Irton Fell towards Ravenglass
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
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Edward Dayes
Borrowdale
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
A View in Cumbria, Looking towards Irton and the Irish Sea, with the Isle of Man in the Distance
Tate, London
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Edward Dayes
The River Leven, Cumbria, Viewed from Penny Bridge
Tate, London
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Edward Dayes
St John's Vale, Cumbria
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
The Lodore Falls
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
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Edward Dayes
Langdale Pikes
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
Derwentwater, with Skiddaw in the Distance
Eton College, Windsor
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Edward Dayes
Beddgelert Bridge, North Wales
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
A Mountainous Landscape with an Overshot Mill, Probably in the Lake District
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
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Edward Dayes
A Mountainous River Landscape with a Bridge
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
Conwy: The Town Walls from the South East
Tate, London
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Edward Dayes
A Mountainous Landscape with an Unidentified Bridge, Possibly in North Wales
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
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Edward Dayes
The Iron Bridge at Coalbrookdale
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
An Estuary, Possibly Dartmouth
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
Grasmere: Looking North West to Helm Crag
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
The Head of Lake Windermere
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
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Edward Dayes
The Head of Derwentwater, with the Lodore Falls
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
Tonbridge Bridge and Castle
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
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Edward Dayes
A Bridge in the Lake District, Possibly Grange Bridge, Borrowdale
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
Dolbadarn Castle on Llyn Padarn
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
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Edward Dayes
Pont Aberglaslyn
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
Conwy Castle, from the East
Huddersfield Art Gallery
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Edward Dayes
The Gatehouse, Harlech Castle, Seen from the Moat
Private Collection, Gloucestershire
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Edward Dayes
Two Trees Overlooking a Meandering River
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
A Dilapidated Cottage
Private Collection
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Edward Dayes
An Interior View of St Albans Abbey, from the Crossing
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide