- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- A Wharf with Shipping, Possibly at Bristol
- Date
- (?) 1797
- Medium and Support
- Graphite on wove paper
- Dimensions
- 7.6 × 16.8 cm, 3 × 6 ⅝ in
- Object Type
- Outline Drawing
- Subject Terms
- Docks and Canals; Somerset and Bristol
-
- Collection
- Versions
-
A Wharf with Shipping, Possibly at Bristol
(TG1728)
- Catalogue Number
- TG1288
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001
Provenance
Tom Girtin (1913–94); bought by John Baskett, on behalf of Paul Mellon (1907–99), 1970; presented to the Center, 1975
Exhibition History
New Haven, 1986a, no.50
Bibliography
YCBA Online as 'Bristol: Sketch of Boats and Buildings' (Accessed 16/09/2022)
Place depicted
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About this Work
This slight pencil sketch of shipping beached next to a wharf has been identified as showing a scene at Bristol, though no evidence has been provided to substantiate this (Morris, 1986, p.50). The drawing certainly resembles a number of other harbour and shipping scenes that Girtin sketched in the nation’s second largest port, including Bristol: St Mary Redcliffe, from the Harbour (TG1286), apparently on the return leg of his 1797 tour of the West Country. However, the identification of the scene as Bristol has been thrown into some doubt by the discovery during the preparation of this online catalogue that the drawing formed the basis for a watercolour hitherto titled ‘A Boatyard by an Estuary’, dating from 1800 (TG1728). The expanse of water shown in the watercolour is much more substantial than the stretch of the Avon at Bristol, though it is of course possible that the pencil drawing was made there after all and that the coastal setting was improvised for the studio work. In the absence of any inscription that might substantiate its location, it is perhaps fairest to retitle this drawing and the watercolour that was derived from it to reflect the fact that, whilst a West Country location is very probable, uncertainty continues to surround the specific site, with the coastal ship-building activities at Instow on the north coast (TG1736) and Shaldon on the south (TG1263) making them credible alternatives.
(?) 1797
Bristol: St Mary Redcliffe, from the Harbour
TG1286
1800
A Wharf with Shipping, Possibly at Bristol
TG1728
(?) 1800
On the River Taw, North Devon, Looking from Braunton Marsh towards Instow and Appledore
TG1736
1797 - 1798
Shaldon, Seen from Teignmouth
TG1263