- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) after James Moore (1762-1799)
- Title
-
- Darnaway Castle
- Date
- 1792 - 1793
- Medium and Support
- Graphite, watercolour and pen and ink on wove paper
- Dimensions
- 16.5 × 21.5 cm, 6 ½ × 8 ½ in
- Inscription
‘Girtin’ lower left, by Thomas Girtin (the signature has been cut, suggesting that it once extended onto an original mount which has been lost); 'Tammany Castle / Thos Girtin’ on the back
- Subject Terms
- Castle Ruins; Scottish View
-
- Collection
-
- Leeds Art Gallery
- (1.13/39)
- Catalogue Number
- TG0137
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 44 as 'Tarnaway Castle, Moray'; 'c. 1793'
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001 and February 2020
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); ... Sydney Decimus Kitson (1871–1937); bequeathed to the Gallery, 1938
Place depicted
Other entries in First Steps as a Professional Artist:
James Moore and British Antiquities

An Ancient House, Possibly in Sussex
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An Interior View of the Ruined East End of Tynemouth Priory Church
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Jedburgh Abbey, from the East
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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
Footnotes
- 1 The document detailing the payments made to the young Girtin by Moore is transcribed in full in the Documents section of the Archive (1792–93 – Item 1).
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About this Work
This watercolour by Girtin showing the old castle of Darnaway, west of Elgin and close to the Scottish north-east coast, was made after a drawing by the amateur artist and antiquarian James Moore (1762–99) (see the source image above), and Girtin never visited the site himself. Girtin’s earliest patron undertook an extensive tour of the country in the late summer of 1792, and this sketch of the soon-to-be-rebuilt castle is dated 17 September. Girtin is documented as having worked for Moore between October 1792 and February 1793 for a fee of six shillings a day, producing watercolours on paper generally measuring roughly 6 ½ × 8 ½ in (16.5 × 21.5 cm) and with their own mounts, though the mount has been lost in this case (Moore, Payments, 1792–93).1 In all Girtin painted seventy or so small watercolours after Moore’s sketches, including about thirty compositions derived from drawings made on the trip to Scotland. Moore employed other artists to work up his sketches for reproduction, including Girtin’s master, Edward Dayes (1763–1804), but it seems that the seventeen-year-old artist, who may still have been an apprentice at this date, was tasked with simply producing the best watercolours he could from the little more than functional records produced by the antiquarian. Moore’s collection of watercolours by Girtin, which eventually numbered over a hundred, remained in the ownership of his descendants until it was broken up after 1912.
Moore’s drawing is inscribed ‘Tarnaway Castle’, the alternative spelling for the building, and it is an invaluable record of the old castle before it was swept away at the beginning of the nineteenth century to make way for a new mansion. The castle was built on a low ridge, and Moore’s view shows how it is flanked by an ancient royal forest, rendering ‘the situation at once romantic and pleasant’. This description comes from the text that accompanies the engraving in John Walker’s (active 1776–1802) Copper-Plate Magazine, which is inscribed as being ‘from an Original Drawing by T. Girtin’ (see the print after above) (Walker, 1792–1802, vol.5). The engraving was published in 1800, by which time Moore was dead, so it is likely that Girtin’s patron lent the drawing to the engraver before 1799, together with six other watercolours that he had commissioned from the artist. The views that Walker engraved included two other Scottish views, Abernethy Round Tower (TG0093) and Duff House, from the River (TG0184), the rest being English scenes. The remainder of Walker’s text describes the fifteenth-century Great Hall, one of the finest surviving medieval interiors in Scotland, and this part of the ancient castle was retained in the new building.
1792 - 1793
Abernethy Round Tower
TG0093
1794
Duff House, from the River
TG0184