- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- (?) Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- A Barn and Sheds
- Date
- 1795 - 1796
- Medium and Support
- Graphite, watercolour and pen and ink on wove paper, on an original mount
- Dimensions
- 12.7 × 19.5 cm, 5 × 7 ⅝ in
- Mount Dimensions
- 14.1 × 20.8 cm, 5 ½ × 8 ⅛ in
- Object Type
- Colour Sketch: Studio Work
- Subject Terms
- Picturesque Vernacular
-
- Collection
-
- Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
- (1953P232)
- Catalogue Number
- TG0922
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 174 as by Thomas Girtin; '1796'
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001 and April 2024
Provenance
Herbert Horne (1864–1916); bought from him by Sir Edward Marsh (1872–1953), May 1904 (lent to London, 1916); bought from him by Thos. Agnews & Sons (stock no.4942), 3 May 1920; bought by Arthur Lees Evans (c.1872–1935), 21 March 1922, £43; Christie's, 6 December 1935, lot 12; bought by 'Squire', £26 5s; the Squire Gallery, London; Fine Art Society, London, 1935-6; James Leslie Wright (1862–1954) (lent to Birmingham, 1939); presented to the Museum, 1953
Exhibition History
London, 1916, no.109; Fine Art Society, 1936, no.3 as 'The Old Barn'; Birmingham, 1939, no.197; London, 1949, no.217 as ’The Old Barn’; Amsterdam, 1965, no.63
Bibliography
Rose, 1980, p.57 as 'Attributed to Thomas Girtin'
Other entries in First Steps as a Professional Artist:
James Moore and British Antiquities
An Ancient House, Possibly in Sussex
Newport Museum and Art Gallery
An Interior View of the Ruined East End of Tynemouth Priory Church
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Jedburgh Abbey, from the East
Private Collection
Craigmillar Castle, near Edinburgh
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Front of Exeter Cathedral, and St Mary Major
The Mellon Bank Collection, Pittsburgh
Stonehenge during a Thunderstorm
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The East End of Tynemouth Priory Church
Private Collection
Kidwelly Castle
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
Ludlow Castle: The Gatehouse
Private Collection
Dumbarton Rock and the Castle, from the North West
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Jedburgh Abbey, from the East
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Interior of the Albion Mills, Southwark, after the Fire
Private Collection
Kinloss Abbey: The Abbot's House
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Conwy Castle, Looking West
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Duff House, from the South
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
An Unidentified Round Tower
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
Glasgow Cathedral, from the North East
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Part of the Ruins of Alton Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Front of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
Private Collection
The Albion Mills, Southwark, after the Fire
Newport Museum and Art Gallery
Bamburgh Castle, from the East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ruins of the East End of St Andrews Cathedral
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
Warkworth Castle, from the River Coquet
Touchstones Rochdale
Colchester Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Great Keep, Kenilworth Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Castle Rock, Edinburgh
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
London: The Demolition of the Old Porch of the Guildhall
London Metropolitan Archives
The Gatehouse, Denbigh Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Kirkstall Abbey, from the South East
Private Collection
Buildwas Abbey
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
The West Front of Brechin Cathedral, with the Round Tower
Private Collection
The Great Gate, St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Conwy Castle: The Bakehouse Tower
Private Collection
Lindisfarne Priory Church, Looking West from the Choir
Tate, London
Kirkstall Abbey, from the North West
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Tithe Barn at Abbotsbury, with St Catherine's Chapel on the Hill
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Kirkstall Abbey, from the South East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Dunstaffnage Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Spynie Palace, near Elgin
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Dunnottar Castle in a Thunderstorm
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Part of the Ruins of Croxden Abbey, from the East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Great Keep, Kenilworth Castle, with Leicester's Gatehouse in the Distance
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Battle Church, from the South East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The East End of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
The Gatehouse, Denbigh Castle
Private Collection
The Ruins of Lewes Castle, from the West
Private Collection
Ewell Church, with a Funeral Procession Approaching
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Rustic Figures in a Landscape, with Pigs
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
St Peter's Church, Bexhill, from the East
Private Collection
Warkworth Castle, from the River Coquet
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Cow Grazing near a Pond, with a Church Tower Beyond
Private Collection
Duff House, from the River
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Landscape with a Shepherd and Flock
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
Melrose Abbey, from the South West
Private Collection
A Cottage, Said to Be near Battle in Sussex
Private Collection
Ely Cathedral, from the South East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The East End of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
Private Collection
The East End of Valle Crucis Abbey Church
Private Collection
Lindisfarne Priory Church, Looking West from the Choir
Private Collection, Scotland
Pegwell Bay, near Ramsgate
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Pevensey Castle: The North Tower with the Gatehouse in the Distance
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Spire of Salisbury Cathedral, from Chorister's Green
Private Collection
The Landgate, Rye
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Landgate, Rye
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Gatehouse, Saltwood Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Gatehouse, Saltwood Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Strand Gate, Winchelsea
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The West Tower, All Saints' Church, Hastings
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Rochester Castle, from the South
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Front of Byland Abbey
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
All Saints' Church, Hastings, from the North East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
An Ancient House, Possibly in Sussex
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Kenilworth Castle: The View from the South
Private Collection
Kenilworth Castle: Seen from the South East
Private Collection
Tolleshunt D’Arcy Church
Private Collection
St Peter's Church, Bexhill, from the South East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ruined Gatehouse, Saltwood Castle, Seen from the North
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Saltwood Castle: The Gatehouse
Private Collection
The Ruined Gatehouse, Pevensey Castle, from the East
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ruined Gatehouse, Pevensey Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Gatehouse, Battle Abbey
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
Carlisle Cathedral, from the South West
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Gatehouse, Battle Abbey
Private Collection
St Mary the Virgin, Eastbourne
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
An Unidentified Landscape with a Figure Seated on a Gate under a Tree
Private Collection
The West Front of Crowland Abbey
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Front of Crowland Abbey
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Pevensey Castle: View of the North and East Towers
Private Collection
The Ruins of the Great Hall, Kenilworth Castle
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
All Saints' Church, Hastings, from the North West
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Refectory, St Martin’s Priory, Dover
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Saltwood Castle: The Gatehouse from a Farmyard
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Spynie Palace: A Coastal View
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
St Clement's Church, with Hastings in the Distance
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The East End of the Church of St Thomas, Winchelsea
Private Collection
The East End of the Church of St Thomas, Winchelsea
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The West Tower, St Clement's Church, Hastings; Studies of a Horse in Harness and Numerous Architectural Details
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Undercliff, near Hastings
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Ypres Tower, Rye
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
An Unidentified Village with a Half-Timbered House
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Hastings: The View across the Beach to Castle Hill
Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
Hastings Castle and Priory Bridge
Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
Tolleshunt D’Arcy Church
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Battle Abbey Gatehouse, from the South West
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
St Clement’s Church, Sandwich, from the North
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
St Peter's Church, Bexhill: The West Tower
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Glasgow Cathedral, from the South West
Bolton Museum and Art Gallery
The East End of Icklesham Church
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Refectory, St Martin’s Priory, Dover
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
The Gatehouse of Beckingham Hall, Tolleshunt Major
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Glamis Castle (Macbeth's Castle)
Private Collection, Norfolk
One of the Alard Monuments in the Church of St Thomas, Winchelsea
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
One of the Alard Monuments in the Church of St Thomas, Winchelsea
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Pegwell Bay, near Ramsgate
Harvard Art Museums / Fogg Museum, Loan from George and Patti White
A Thatched Barn with Farm Animals
Private Collection
A Timber-Frame House with a Hill Beyond
Tate, London
A Farmyard with Pigs Drinking at a Pond
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
A Barn with a Figure, Cattle and Poultry
Courtauld Gallery, London
Malmesbury: The Market Cross
Athelstan Museum, Malmesbury
An Unidentified Country Church and Churchyard
Private Collection, Norfolk
Revisions & Feedback
The website will be updated from time to time and, when changes are made, a PDF of the previous version of each page will be archived here for consultation and citation.
Please help us to improve this catalogue
If you have information, a correction or any other suggestions to improve this catalogue, please contact us.
About this Work
The attribution of this watercolour has been questioned in the most recent catalogue of the collection of Girtin’s drawings at Birmingham City Art Gallery (Rose, 1980, p.57). However, Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David Loshak included it in their catalogue of Girtin’s works, dating it to around 1796, and though it is not of the highest quality, on balance, I am inclined to accept the attribution. Part of the difficulty with establishing the authorship of the work lies in the continuing uncertainty about its precise status. It is clear that the sketch is not an on-the-spot colour study and it is unlikely that it will be possible to identify the precise location of a picturesque group of agricultural buildings that might equally be the product of the artist’s imagination. Indeed, other rural scenes dating from about the same period, also measuring roughly 12 × 20 cm (4 ¾ × 7 ⅞ in), such as A Cow Grazing near a Pond (TG0178), suggest that Girtin copied the composition of A Barn and Sheds from another source and that it is a studio work made to appear like an on-the-spot colour sketch. Beginning around 1796, Girtin pioneered a new commodity that was aimed at the market for artists’ sketches. The majority, such as Bothal Castle, from the River Wansbeck (TG1089), were based on topographical views taken on the spot, but other, more generic rural scenes were based on the sketches of artists such as Edward Dayes (1763–1804) and, in particular, Thomas Hearne (1744–1817). They seem to have stemmed from Girtin’s work at the home of Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833), where he made a series of pencil copies that were worked up into small sketch-like watercolours, as with A Road by a Pond, with a Church in the Distance (TG0376 and TG0377). Nothing is known about the early provenance of this work, but it is possible that it was once part of Monro’s collection.
1795 - 1796
A Cow Grazing near a Pond, with a Church Tower Beyond
TG0178
1796 - 1797
Bothal Castle, from the River Wansbeck
TG1089
1794 - 1795
A Road by a Pond, with a Church in the Distance
TG0376
1795 - 1796
A Road by a Pond, with a Church in the Distance
TG0377