- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) after James Moore (1762-1799)
- Title
-
- Melrose Abbey, from the South West
- Date
- (?) 1794
- Medium and Support
- Graphite, watercolour and pen and ink on wove paper
- Dimensions
- 29.9 × 33 cm, 11 ¾ × 13 in
- Object Type
- Studio Watercolour; Work after an Amateur Artist
- Subject Terms
- Monastic Ruins; The Scottish Borders
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- TG0196
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 37 as 'Melrose Abbey, Roxburgh ... 1793 ... copied with minor variations from a water-colour' by Edward Dayes
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in June 2022
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); bought by an unknown purchaser, 1912, £21; Leggatt Brothers, London, 1916; ... Fine Art Society, London, 1946; bought by Paul Tod; his sale, Christie's, 25 May 1956, lot 54; bought by the Fine Art Society, London, £52 10s; Sotheby's, 10 July 1980, lot 121 as by Edward Dayes, £420; Christie's, 18 November 1980, lot 22 as by Thomas Girtin, £1,700; Martyn Gregory Ltd; F. Alan Cummings, Tallahassee, Florida; Hindman Auctions, 27 September 2021, lot 96, $3,750; Christie's, 5 July 2022, lot 94, £8,190
Exhibition History
Martyn Gregory, London, 1981, no.65; Martyn Gregory, London, 1989, no.58
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
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
This watercolour by Girtin depicting Melrose Abbey, in the Scottish Borders, was made after a drawing by the amateur artist and antiquarian James Moore (1762–99) (see the source image above), and the artist did not visit the site himself until 1800 or 1801. Girtin’s earliest patron travelled extensively in Scotland in the late summer of 1792 and his sketch of the ruined abbey church from the south west is dated 22 August. 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) (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. This view is significantly larger, however, and it dates from a few years later, when Girtin was employed by Moore to produce a series of more substantial views of medieval cathedrals, including Peterborough (TG1017), Lichfield (TG1002) and Ely (TG0202), which, unlike the earlier watercolours, were designed to be framed for display on the wall. In the case of Melrose Abbey, Moore initially commissioned Girtin’s master, Edward Dayes (1763–1804), to produce a small watercolour from his on-the-spot sketch (see figure 1). Since Dayes’ watercolour is dated 1792, it seems likely that Moore first turned to him to work up a group of his Scottish drawings, some of which were reproduced in Moore’s 1794 publication Twenty-Five Views in the Southern Part of Scotland, before paying Girtin to complete the set. A year or so later, Moore presumably decided that because Melrose ‘is the most beautiful ruin in Scotland’ with ‘more specimens of Gothic ornament than are any where else to be met with’, it warranted a more substantial treatment, and he commissioned this second version of his sketch from Girtin (Moore, 1794, p.96).
Unusually for Girtin, his version of Moore’s composition is found wanting in comparison with Dayes’ work. Girtin’s sky is bland compared to the fresh, light-filled cloudscape developed by his master, and the fact that he worked at second hand from another artist’s sketch is all too evident from the far from secure perspective of the building and the yellowish tone of the stone. Dayes, in comparison, at least hints at the fact that the building is made of a red sandstone and he makes a more effective link between the south transept, the ruined crossing tower and the nave to the left. With only Moore’s drawing to hand, Girtin was also unable to clearly distinguish between the ruined transept, the crossing and the nave, which was then in use as the parish church. At the time of Moore’s visit, and prior to the building of a new church in the town, part of the ruined abbey was thus fitted out for worship, but this is far from clear from Girtin’s watercolour. Moreover, in comparison with many of the other, larger-scale views of Gothic structures that Girtin made for Moore from his own pencil drawings, the architectural details of Melrose lack clarity. The ornate sculptural decoration of the south transept and the complex window tracery are fudged and unconvincing, and it was presumably works such as this that persuaded Moore that if Girtin was to work for him on an enlarged scale, he would need to visit and sketch the subject for himself.
1794
The West Front of Peterborough Cathedral
TG1017
1794
The West Front of Lichfield Cathedral
TG1002
(?) 1794
Ely Cathedral, from the South East
TG0202