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Works (?) Thomas Girtin and Samuel Howitt

Landscape and Deer

1795 - 1796

Primary Image: TG1372: (?) Thomas Girtin (1775–1802) and Samuel Howitt (1756–1822), Landscape and Deer, 1795–96, graphite, watercolour and pen and ink on wove paper, 28.6 × 42.2 cm, 11 ¼ × 16 ⅝ in. Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery (1923P159).

Photo courtesy of Birmingham Museums Trust

Description
Creator(s)
(?) Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) and Samuel Howitt (1756-1822)
Title
  • Landscape and Deer
Date
1795 - 1796
Medium and Support
Graphite, watercolour and pen and ink on wove paper
Dimensions
29 × 43.1 cm, 11 ⅜ × 17 in
Object Type
Collaborations; Studio Watercolour
Subject Terms
Animal Study; The Landscape Park

Collection
Catalogue Number
TG1372
Description Source(s)
Viewed in 2001 and April 2024

Provenance

Thomas Calvert Girtin (1801–74); then by descent to George Wyndham Hog Girtin (1835–1911); then by a settlement to his sister, Mary Hog Barnard (née Girtin) (1828–99); her sale, Christie's, 31 May 1886, lot 60 as 'A landscape, with deer' by Samuel Howitt and Thomas Girtin; bought by 'Palser', £25 4s; J. Palser & Sons; ... J. Palser & Sons (stock no.17231); bought by Victor Rienaecker (1887–1972), 26 October 1921; presented to the Gallery, 1923

About this Work

This unidentified scene, one of a pair of landscapes with herds of deer (the other being TG1371), though not signed by the two artists, may be another example of the collaboration between Girtin and the animal painter Samuel Howitt (1756–1822), his older contemporary (see TG1373 and TG1374). The two works are the same size, and they both came from the collection of the artist’s son, Thomas Calvert Girtin (1801–74). They do not seem to have been inherited directly, however. Presumably because the artist’s son bought the pair of works on the art market, Thomas Girtin (1874–1960), co-author of the first catalogue of Girtin’s watercolours, discounted the attribution and the work was not included in the catalogue (Girtin and Loshak, 1954). However, I am not sure that the style of the landscape is so very different from the two signed Howitt–Girtin collaborations to suggest that this not was also the case here and it may be another example of Girtin early in his career looking to adjust his style to match that of his less talented partner. That said, the attribution of the landscape to Girtin seems a little less convincing than in the Windsor view with the use of an uncharacteristically vibrant green across the sheet raising some concern, though this is no doubt somewhat exaggerated by the over warm character of the image.

1795 - 1796

Windsor Great Park: Herne’s Oak with a Herd of Deer

TG1371

1795 - 1796

Stags Fighting amongst a Herd of Deer in Windsor Great Park, with the Castle in the Distance

TG1373

1795 - 1796

A Herd of Deer in Richmond Park

TG1374

by Greg Smith

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