- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- James Moore (1762-1799) and Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- Bolton Castle
- Date
- 1792 - 1793
- Medium and Support
- Graphite on wove paper
- Dimensions
- 16.9 × 21.7 cm, 6 ⅝ × 8 ½ in
- Object Type
- Outline Drawing
- Subject Terms
- Castle Ruins; Yorkshire View
-
- Collection
-
- Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
- (WA1934.103)
- Versions
-
Bolton Castle
(TG0142)
- Catalogue Number
- TG0142a
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001 and 2016
Provenance
James Moore (1762–99); his widow, Mary Moore (née Howett) (d.1835); bequeathed to Anne Miller (1802–90); bequeathed to Edward Mansel Miller (1829–1912); bequeathed to Helen Louisa Miller (1842–1915); bought by Francis Pierrepont Barnard (1854–1931), 1912, £21 with TG0142; his widow, Isabella Barnard; bequeathed to the Museum, 1934
Exhibition History
London, 1875, no.59 with the watercolour based on it, TG0142
Bibliography
Finberg, 1913, p.132 as by Thomas Girtin; Bell, 1915–17, pp.53–54 as by Thomas Girtin; Bell, 1938–39, p.98 as attributed to Edward Dayes; Mayne, 1949, p.99 as by Thomas Girtin; Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.137 as by Edward Dayes; Brown, 1982, pp.244–45, no.489, as by Edward Dayes
Place depicted
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
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
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About this Work
This pencil sketch was attributed to Girtin when it was bought by Francis Pierrepont Barnard (1854–1931) from the descendants of Girtin’s first patron, the amateur artist and antiquarian James Moore (1762–99), with a watercolour of the same subject by Girtin (TG0142). It was generally assumed that the drawing was after an untraced sketch by Moore and that it was made in preparation for the finished watercolour that Girtin painted for his patron (Bell, 1915–17, pp.53–54). We can be reasonably sure of the ultimate source of the composition because Moore included an aquatint of Bolton Castle by George Isham Parkyns (c.1749–1824) in his Monastic Remains and Ancient Castles in England and Wales (see TG0142 figure 1), with a note that Moore made the drawing on 26 September 1789 (Moore, 1792, p.12). However, doubts about the attribution to Girtin were raised when a watercolour by Girtin’s master, Edward Dayes (1763–1804), appeared on the art market in 1951 (see figure 1). It is signed and dated 1791, has the same measurements as the pencil drawing and, significantly, repeats the same figure group depicted in the watercolour; moreover, it includes the pile of rocks in the foreground, and none of these features are present in Girtin’s own work. As a result, Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David Loshak concluded that this pencil drawing was by Dayes and that he made it as preparation for his 1791 watercolour (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p. 137), and this plausible argument was accepted by David Brown in his catalogue of the drawings at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, where the watercolour by Dayes joined the pencil drawing from the Moore family collection (Brown, 1982, pp.243–44).
The removal of the work from the catalogue of Girtin’s works is not without its problems, however. The drawing clearly closely resembles Dayes’ watercolour, but the idea that it was made as a study for the work, presumably using Moore’s sketch as the starting point, does not feel right. Such studies rarely include figures and they typically concentrate on the outlines of the architecture, with staffage improvised at the painting stage. Instead, this drawing appears to be a copy of the watercolour and stylistically it more closely resembles the work of Girtin, with his characteristic sharp accents picking out details and a typically inventive shorthand way of representing individual stones. If the drawing is by Girtin, after Dayes, then it would have performed at least two functions: recording a composition by Dayes that did not enter the Moore collection, and providing the artist with a model of how the mundane sketches of his patron might be translated into a more satisfying effect. On balance, therefore, I suspect that this drawing is by Girtin, that it is a copy of a Dayes watercolour after a sketch by Moore, and that it is therefore the model for Girtin’s own Bolton Castle (TG0142).
1792 - 1793
Bolton Castle
TG0142
1792 - 1793
Bolton Castle
TG0142