- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) after James Moore (1762-1799)
- Title
-
- Duff House, from the River
- Date
- 1794
- Medium and Support
- Graphite, watercolour, pen and ink and scratching out on wove paper, on an original washline mount
- Dimensions
- 12.8 × 16.9 cm, 5 × 6 ⅝ in
- Mount Dimensions
- 17 × 21.4 cm, 6 ¾ × 8 ⁷⁄₁₆ in
- Inscription
‘T. Girtin. 94’ lower right, by Thomas Girtin
- Object Type
- Drawing for a Print; Work after an Amateur Artist
- Subject Terms
- Country House View; Scottish View
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- TG0184
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 41ii as 'Duff House, Banff'; 'Late 1794'
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001 and 2018
Provenance
James Moore (1762–99); his widow, Mary Moore (née Howett) (d.1835); bequeathed to Anne Miller (1802–90) (lent to London, 1875); bequeathed to Edward Mansel Miller (1829–1912); bequeathed to Helen Louisa Miller (1842–1915); bought by the Museum, 1916, £21
Exhibition History
London, 1875, no.46 as one of 'Two Views of Duff House, Banff, N. B.'
Bibliography
Bell, 1915–17, p.74; Davies, 1924, p.15; Hardie, 1934, p.18; Mayne, 1949, p.99; Hardie, 1966–68, vol.2, p.19; Brown, 1982, p.323, no.705
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
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 is the second of two watercolours showing Duff House, on the north-east coast of Scotland, that Girtin made after drawings by the amateur artist and antiquarian James Moore (1762–99) (see the source image above and source image TG0108), and unusually for the artist at this period it is dated – 1794. The first drawing (TG0108) was probably made during the winter of 1792–93, when Girtin is documented as having worked for Moore 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) from his patron’s modest sketches (Moore, Payments, 1792–93).1 In all Girtin painted seventy or so small watercolours, including about thirty compositions derived from drawings made on the trip to Scotland; this composition is based on a drawing made on 11 September 1792. Moore employed other artists to work up his sketches for reproduction, including Girtin’s master, Edward Dayes (1763–1804), and in general 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. In this case, however, Moore commissioned Girtin to produce a more carefully worked up version of his composition and he then handed this over to the engraver and publisher John Walker (active 1776–1802), who reproduced it in his Copper-Plate Magazine in 1797 as ‘after a Sketch by Jas Moore Esqr.’ (see the print after, above) (Walker, 1792–1802, vol.3).
Girtin’s drawing for the print is an altogether more sophisticated production than the initial, almost monochrome view he painted for Moore in 1792–93. Although it is actually smaller in order to fit the format of the print publication, it introduces a number of new features, including a boat on the river. Additionally, the artist referred back to Moore’s original drawing for details of the distant village of Banff and for the group of trees that now frames the right-hand side of the composition. This did not constitute quite enough picturesque incident, however, as the engraver added a fishing group in the foreground. Girtin’s 1794 watercolour of Duff House offers a stark contrast with the earlier view in other respects too. Thus, he employs a full palette of colours and a more sophisticated range of techniques, including the first example in the artist’s career of using scratching out to create white highlights from the exposed paper. Girtin’s original mount is also more ornate than those created for the earlier works for Moore, and the way that the colour seeps from the drawing onto the support indicates not only that Girtin himself mounted the drawing before completing it but also that this was a carefully considered part of the production process. It would have made no sense for an artist to create a fine decorative mount if the sole purpose of the drawing was to act as a model for an engraver, however, and no doubt the work was always intended to be returned to Moore after its loan to Walker.
1792 - 1793
Duff House, from the South
TG0108
1792 - 1793
Duff House, from the South
TG0108