- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
- Date
- 1801
- Medium and Support
- Graphite, watercolour and bodycolour on laid paper
- Dimensions
- 32.4 × 52.7 cm, 12 ¾ × 20 ¾ in
- Inscription
‘Girtin 1801’ lower right, by Thomas Girtin
- Object Type
- Studio Watercolour
- Subject Terms
- Monastic Ruins; River Scenery; Yorkshire View
-
- Collection
- Versions
-
Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
(TG1616)
- Catalogue Number
- TG1680
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 438 as 'Bolton Abbey'
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2008
Provenance
Sir William Pilkington, 8th Baronet (1775–1850) (according to the mezzotint, 1825); ... Harry Lawrence Bradfer-Lawrence (1887–1965) (lent to Agnew's, 1953); then by descent to P. J. D. Gray and Bridget Gray (lent to Tokyo, 1970); then by descent; Christie’s, 10 December 2008, lot 25 as 'Bolton Abbey on the Banks of the River Wharfe, Yorkshire'
Exhibition History
Agnew’s, 1953a, no.80; Arts Council, 1953, no.24; Geneva, 1955, no.72; Leeds, 1958, no.54; London, 1963a, no.25; Tokyo, 1970, no.78; on loan to Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, 1983
Bibliography
Leeds Arts Calendar, vol.6, no.19 (1952), p.22; Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.78; Tate Gallery, 1996, p.22
Place depicted
Other entries in Late Watercolours:
Samuel William Reynolds and Painting for the Art Market
An Imaginary City, with Antique Buildings
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
Ancient Ruins, with an Obelisk
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Ancient Ruins, with a Gothic Church
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
A Classical Composition, with a Church and Column
Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool
The Arch of Janus, Rome
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Temple of Clitumnus
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Rome: The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Rome: The Temple of Saturn, with the Arch of Septimius Severus
Private Collection
A Town on an Estuary
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
A Lagoon Capriccio
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
An Unidentified Coastal Landscape with a Windmill
Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight
Barnard Castle, from the River Tees
Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle
A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle upon Tyne
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
An Exterior View of the Ruins of Lindisfarne Priory Church
Lindisfarne Priory, Northumberland (English Heritage)
Kelso Abbey: The West Front
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Jedburgh Abbey, from the Riverbank
The Higgins, Bedford
On the River Medway, with a Boatyard, Beached Vessels and Hulks
Private Collection
Bisham Abbey, on the River Thames
Private Collection
A Classical Composition, with Figures Admiring the Sculptures
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
An Unidentified Ruin next to a Bridge over a Stream, Said to Be Furness Abbey
Touchstones Rochdale
The Gatehouse of Morpeth Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Buildings on the River Nidd, near Knaresborough
British Museum, London
Kirkstall Abbey, from Kirkstall Hill
British Museum, London
Kirkstall Abbey, from Kirkstall Bridge, Morning
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Kirkstall Abbey, from the Canal, Evening
Private Collection
A Distant View of Kirkstall Abbey
Williamson Art Gallery & Museum, Birkenhead
An Unidentified Scene, Formerly Known as ‘Kirkstall Village’
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Wetherby Bridge and Mills, Looking across the Weir
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Wetherby: Looking through the Bridge to the Mills
British Museum, London
Wetherby: Looking through the Bridge to the Mills
Leeds Art Gallery
Kirk Deighton, near Wetherby
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
York: The New Walk on the Banks of the River Ouse
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
York: The Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
York: The Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern
Private Collection
York Minster from the South East, Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern to the Right
Private Collection
A Farmyard with Barns, Ladder and Figures; A Sky Study
Courtauld Gallery, London
Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Leeds Art Gallery
Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery
A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell
Private Collection
Ripon Minster, from the South East
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Ripon Minster, from the South West
Private Collection
The Abbey Mill, near Knaresborough
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
A Mountain Stream in Spate, Possibly the River Wharfe
Private Collection
Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church from across the River Wharfe
Eton College, Windsor
Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church, from across the River Wharfe
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff
Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church, from across the River Wharfe
Leeds Art Gallery
Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Private Collection
Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Private Collection
The Banks of the River Wharfe, with Bolton Abbey in the Distance
Private Collection
Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe, near Bolton Abbey
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe, near Bolton Abbey
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Storiths Heights, near Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
Richmond Castle, from the River Swale
Leeds Art Gallery
A Farmhouse in Malhamdale, Known as 'Kirkby Priory, near Malham'
British Museum, London
An Ancient Oak, Said to Be on the River Ure
Private Collection
Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Private Collection, Norfolk
Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Private Collection
Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Guisborough Priory: The Ruined East End
Tate, London
A Distant View of Guisborough Priory; The Tithe Barn, Abbotsbury
Private Collection, Norfolk
A Distant View of Guisborough Priory
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
A Distant View of Guisborough Priory
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle upon Tyne
Private Collection
Warkworth Castle, from the River Coquet
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
An Upland Landscape, Said to Show Etal Castle
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The River Tweed at Kelso, Looking Upstream
Courtauld Gallery, London
The Eildon Hills, from the River Tweed
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
A Distant View of Dryburgh Abbey, with the Eildon Hills Beyond
Private Collection
The Valley of the Tweed, with Melrose Abbey in the Distance
Private Collection
Jedburgh Abbey, from Jed Water
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
Jedburgh Abbey, from the South East
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Village of Jedburgh
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Southampton: The South Gate and Old Gaol
Private Collection
Bristol Harbour, with St Mary Redcliffe in the Distance
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
A Wharf with Shipping, Possibly at Bristol
Art Institute of Chicago
A Rainbow over the River Exe
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
A Rainbow over the River Exe
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
A Rainbow over the River Exe
Graves Gallery, Sheffield
Lydford Castle, from the River Lyd
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
St Vincent’s Rocks and the Avon Gorge
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
On the River Taw, North Devon, Looking from Braunton Marsh towards Instow and Appledore
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Conwy Castle, from the River Gyffin
Private Collection, Norfolk
Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea (The White House, Chelsea)
Tate, London
Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea
Private Collection, Norfolk
A Panoramic Landscape, with Figures Trawling a Pond
Private Collection
Landscape with a Distant Ridge, Possibly Hampstead Heath
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
An Inn Yard, Edgware Road, Paddington
British Museum, London
The Thames from a Window of the Old Toy Inn, Hampton Court
British Museum, London
The Old Cottage, Widmore, near Bromley
British Museum, London
Shipping on the River Medway
Museum of New Zealand, Wellington
A Farmyard with Cattle, Poultry and Labourers Unloading Hay, Possibly Pinkney's Farm, Wimbish
Art Institute of Chicago
Farmhouse and Outbuildings, Possibly in Essex
Aberdeen Art Gallery
An Unidentified Village Street with a Church Tower in the Distance
British Museum, London
A Panoramic Landscape, Possibly Showing Primrose Hill, London
Private Collection
A Mountain Stream with a Watermill and Bridge
Eton College, Windsor
Unidentified Landscape with a Distant Rain Shower
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff
Warkworth Church, with the Bridge Beyond
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
An Italianate Landscape with Two Monks
Private Collection
Footnotes
- 1 The Literary Gazette, and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences, &c., no.453, 24 September 1825, p.620; The Eclectic Review, new series, vol.1, December 1825, p.526
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About this Work
This view of the full extent of the remains of the priory church at Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire, looking along the river Wharfe from the south east, is based on a sketch in the Whitworth Book of Drawings (TG1616), though Girtin made a number of changes to the composition. The artist thus cut the scene to the left and added more of the riverbank to the right, featuring the cliff that is seen in both Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe (TG1684) and On the River Wharfe at Bolton Abbey (TG1554). At the same time, he increased the height of the hill shown behind the ruins. The village buildings that lie in the shadow of the building have also been simplified to give greater prominence to the priory, though the artist did not try to hide the fact that the picturesque ruined east end gives way at the transept to the intact part of the building, which had been refurbished after the Dissolution of the Monasteries as the village parish church. In the absence of any human presence, and combined with a twilight effect that enhances a sense of tranquillity and retirement, the modern buildings seem a natural extension of the priory, and there is a timeless quality to the composition that means that, though the empty windows of the east end signify ruins, the settlement as a whole could equally pass for a site of monastic retreat in its heyday.
The watercolour is now so badly faded that it is difficult to appreciate the twilight effect, which was fundamental to recreating the site’s celebrated air of ‘seclusion’ and ‘retirement’, and which was said to form an ideal ‘retreat … from the strife and turbulency of the busy world’ (Anonymous, 1813, pp.15–16). The work was reproduced as a mezzotint in 1825 (see the print after, above), prior to its deterioration, and looking at the print at least gives us some idea of the original effect that impressed its reviewers, who commented favourably on its recreation of ‘one of the most beautiful of Girtin’s twilight effects’, so ‘spirited and rich’.1 The time of day depicted by Girtin no doubt meant that the work was not highly coloured, but the almost monochrome appearance of the watercolour that we see today is the result of the loss of the full range of greys in the clouds, much of the blues in the sky and its reflection in the water, and all of the greens of the vegetation. Patches of blue remaining in the sky suggest that the artist used a more permanent pigment in some areas, but the employment of the unstable indigo for the same colour, and gamboge for yellow, might have been enough to account for much of the disastrous deterioration in the work.
The mezzotint records that the original drawing was owned by Sir William Pilkington (1775–1850), who was a near neighbour in Yorkshire of Girtin’s great patron Edward Lascelles (1764–1814) of Harewood House, with whom the artist probably stayed when he made the sketch for this drawing. However, only one of the sizeable group of watercolours of Bolton painted by Girtin was commissioned by Lascelles (TG1554), and the majority of the views were actually made for disposal on the art market by Samuel William Reynolds (1773–1835), who acted on behalf of the artist in his final years in a role somewhere between agent and dealer. This work conforms to the larger of the two standard sizes of watercolours that Girtin produced for Reynolds in 1800 and 1801. Though the evidence in this case is not compelling as the mezzotint was not made by Reynolds, it is unlikely that this work was produced on commission, and it thus reflects the artist’s estimate of what subjects would sell and how best to treat them to create a successful commodity.
(?) 1800
Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
TG1616
1800 - 1801
Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe, near Bolton Abbey
TG1684
1800 - 1801
On the River Wharfe at Bolton Abbey
TG1554
1800 - 1801
On the River Wharfe at Bolton Abbey
TG1554