- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- (?) Samuel William Reynolds (1773-1835) after Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea
- Date
- 1800 - 1805
- Medium and Support
- Graphite and watercolour on laid paper
- Dimensions
- 31 × 51.1 cm, 12 ¼ × 20 ⅛ in
- Inscription
‘Mr. Ambrose Johns / Plymouth’ on the back of the mount, in a later hand; ‘S.R.’ on the back of the mount, in a later hand
- Object Type
- Copy after Thomas Girtin
- Subject Terms
- London and Environs; River Scenery; The River Thames; Wind and Water Mills
-
- Collection
-
- Private Collection, Norfolk
- (I-E-31)
- Versions
-
Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea
(TG1525)
Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea (TG1601)
Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea (The White House, Chelsea) (TG1740)
- Catalogue Number
- TG1741
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 337iii as 'The White House at Chelsea ... a much less inspired replica of' TG1525; '1800'
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001
Provenance
Ambrose Bowden Johns (1776–1858); ... William Bell Scott (1811–90); his posthumous sale, Sotheby's, 14 July 1892, lot 197 as 'Chelsea Reach', £17 10s; Charles Fairfax Murray (1849–1919); bought from him by Thos. Agnew & Sons (stock no.7618), 5 February 1912; bought by Sir Hickman Bacon (1855–1945), 20 February 1912, £215; then by descent
Exhibition History
Agnew’s, 1912, no.28 as ’The White House, Chelsea Reach’; Agnew’s, (?) 1927, no.28; London, 1946, no.92; Arts Council, 1946, no.77; Boston, 1948, no.138; Agnew’s, 1953a, no.84; King's Lynn, 1967, no.44; Manchester, 1975, no.61 as ’The White House, Chelsea’; Hove, 1993, no.21 as ’The White House’
Bibliography
Oppé, 1946b, pp.127–28; Mayne, 1949, p.106; Hardie, 1966–68, vol.2, p.13, p.20; Gage, 1969, p.98; Hawcroft, 1975, p.16; Kitson, 1975, p.257; Smiles and Pidgley, 1995, p.116; Graham-Dixon, 2008, p.277; Wilcox, 2012, pp.12–13 as by a 'Follower of Thomas Girtin'; Cumming, 2015, pp.185–87; described in the Tax-Exempt Heritage Assets list as 'Attributed to Thomas Girtin: The White House, Chelsea' (Accessed 19/09/2022)
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

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
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 version of Girtin’s most famous composition, the erroneously titled The White House at Chelsea (TG1740), has long been the subject of comment. Thus, although the watercolour was heralded by some on its first appearance at an exhibition in 1912 as an autograph work, and thus the original source of a famous anecdote about Joseph Mallord William Turner’s (1775–1851) appreciation of Girtin’s genius, others disagreed, leading to a lengthy debate in the press about which was the ‘original’ or ‘authentic’ drawing (The Times, 22 February 1912; The Observer, 24 March 1912; The Illustrated London News, 30 March 1912). The argument was taken up again in 1934 when its owner, Sir Hickman Bacon (1855–1945), invited Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) to compare the two works, having left his version at the National Gallery for the purpose (Girtin Archive, 26). Bacon not surprisingly preferred his own watercolour, but he was not able to persuade the artist’s descendant, who, in a note dated 1942, stated that it was probably a copy made by the engraver Samuel William Reynolds (1773–1835) (Girtin Archive, 27). And prompted by such speculation, Francis Hawcroft, in turn, borrowed both works for the 1975 Girtin exhibition at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester so that they could ‘be carefully studied side by side’ to test Thomas Girtin and David Loshak’s slightly watered-down view, that this is a ‘much less inspired replica’ by Girtin (Hawcroft, 1975, p.16). Michael Kitson, in his review of the exhibition, took up the challenge and concluded that the work was a ‘copy by another hand’. Though this has generally been the accepted view since, nobody has specifically discussed this work in relation to Reynolds, and the old misattribution still occasionally resurfaces (Kitson, 1975, p.257, Wilcox, 1993, pp.58–59).
The attribution to Reynolds of this version of Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea, as the composition should be known, is supported by two crucial facts. Firstly, we now know that Reynolds acquired a stock of newly painted watercolours from Girtin in 1800–1801 and that he was seeking purchasers for them at the end of 1801, acting as Girtin’s representative in a role somewhere between agent and dealer. The authentic version of the work, now at Tate Britain, was almost certainly in Reynolds’ possession in 1800, so he crucially had the opportunity to make a direct copy rather than depending on the later mezzotint produced by Thomas Lupton (1791–1873) (see the second print after TG1740). Secondly, Reynolds produced his own mezzotint of the composition (see the first print after TG1740), titled Chelsea Reach and dated 24 April 1823, but probably worked much earlier, and this gives him a logical reason for copying Girtin’s watercolour: namely, to produce a model from which he could make his own print whilst endeavouring to sell the original, in which case the initials ‘SR’, recorded on the back of the drawing, could be an admission of his authorship. However, the copyist used the same type of coarse cartridge paper employed by Girtin and worked on the same scale, neither of which details are commensurate with an engraver’s copy, and a less charitable view would have it that Reynolds produced a commodity that was calculated to deceive collectors. The attribution to Reynolds and the suspicion that his motives were less than honourable are supported by the existence of a sizeable group of his full-scale copies of Girtin’s compositions that were all reproduced by him as mezzotints, including Rainbow: A Scene on the River Exe (see the second print after TG1730), all of which were made after the original watercolours and not, as has generally been suspected, from the later prints. As in Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea, a mechanical, slightly harder touch is one of the only telltale signs of a copyist whose competence as an artist, combined with his close working relationship with Girtin, otherwise ensured that he got many of the technical details right, and consequently caused problems not associated with other poorer copies (see figure 1).
1800
Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea (The White House, Chelsea)
TG1740
1800
Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea (The White House, Chelsea)
TG1740
1800
Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea (The White House, Chelsea)
TG1740
1800
A Rainbow over the River Exe
TG1730