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Works Thomas Girtin after Unknown Artist

Loch Lomond

1795 - 1796

Primary Image: TG0873: Thomas Girtin (1775–1802), after an Unknown Artist, Loch Lomond, 1795–96, graphite and watercolour on laid paper (card), 7.5 × 12 cm, 3 × 4 ¾ in. Dowle Fine Art.

Photo courtesy of Ewbank Auction House, Photo: Todd-White Art Photography (All Rights Reserved)

Description
Creator(s)
Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) after Unknown Artist
Title
  • Loch Lomond
Date
1795 - 1796
Medium and Support
Graphite and watercolour on laid paper (card)
Dimensions
7.5 × 12 cm, 3 × 4 ¾ in
Object Type
Colour Sketch: Studio Work
Subject Terms
Lake Scenery; Scottish View

Collection
Catalogue Number
TG0873
Description Source(s)
Auction Catalogue

Provenance

Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833); his posthumous sale, possibly Christie's, 26 June 1833, lot 80 or lot 83 as 'Views and ruins, in colours, on cards 10' by 'Turner'; ... Charles Morland Agnew (1855–1931); his widow, Evelyn Mary Agnew (d.1932); her posthumous sale, Christie’s, 24 March 1933, lot 18 as 'Loch Lomond; Kelso Abbey; and Corfe Castle, three in one frame'; bought by 'T. Agnew', £3 13s 6d; Thos. Agnew & Sons; ... Sotheby's, 9 March 1989, lot 59, £770; Ewbank's, 2 December 2021, lot 2273, £200; Dowle Fine Art

About this Work

This view of Loch Lomond in west Scotland is likely to have been amongst the sixty ‘Coloured Drawings on Cards’ sold from the collection of Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833) (Exhibitions: Christie’s, 7 May 1808, lots 60 and 61; Christie’s, 26 June 1833, lots 80–83). A group of the cards was bought by Girtin’s collaborator at Monro’s home, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), and they now form part of the Turner Bequest at Tate Britain, where the majority of them are attributed to Girtin. The watercolours, all painted on paper measuring roughly 3 × 4 ¾ in (7.6 × 12.1 cm), were mainly executed around 1795–96 after a set of outline drawings of antiquarian subjects that Girtin copied from the sketches of his first significant patron, the amateur artist and antiquarian James Moore (1762–99). This example, however, is one of a group of landscape views that, though painted in the same format, seem to date from a year or so later. Girtin certainly did not visit this part of Scotland, and, given that Moore’s views of the region concentrated exclusively on antiquarian subjects, we need to look elsewhere for the watercolour’s source. We know that Monro owned a framed drawing titled ‘Loch Lomond’ by Girtin’s master, Edward Dayes (1763–1804), as it featured in a sale in 1800 (Exhibitions: Christie’s, 19 May 1800, lot 57), and Girtin therefore probably came across the subject at his patron’s home. But Dayes too is not known to have visited this part of Scotland, and he may also have worked from a view by another artist. Loch Lomond was not a particularly popular destination for artists at this time, and the only comparable views that I have been able to trace are a set of six aquatints by Archibald Robertson (active 1777–96) after drawings by Robert Andrew Riddell (unknown dates), published in 1795. None of these match Girtin’s watercolour, though they are close enough to confirm that the subject is indeed Loch Lomond.

The lake view was once framed with two other small watercolours, depicting Kelso Abbey (TG0270a) and Corfe Castle (TG0365a), and all three appear to have been made for Monro. Any doubts about the attribution of this watercolour on the grounds of quality are substantially allayed by the fact that the views of both Kelso and Corfe are based on pencil drawings that are clearly by Girtin himself (TG0270 and TG0365).

1795 - 1796

Kelso Abbey, from the North West

TG0270a

1795 - 1796

A Distant View of Corfe Castle

TG0365a

(?) 1795

Kelso Abbey, from the North West

TG0270

1794 - 1795

A Distant View of Corfe Castle

TG0365

by Greg Smith

Place depicted

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