This watercolour, one of two views of a substantial picturesque roadside farm (the other being TG1452), was painted for Girtin’s father-in-law, Phineas Borrett (1756–1843). He was a prosperous London goldsmith who invested in property in Essex, buying Pinkney’s Farm in Radwinter as well as the nearby Turver’s Farm (TG1414), and he appears to have commissioned views of both from Girtin around 1799. This presumably required a visit from the artist to Essex to record the subjects, and, though no sketches have survived, there is a series of other views from around this date, including A Mill in Essex (TG1416), which suggests that what appear to be generic picturesque scenes are based on actual sites; indeed, this building can still be recognised today. From a time when Girtin was producing both country-house views for wealthy patrons and images of picturesque vernacular buildings for the open market, these watercolours are a unique hybrid that held close personal associations for the Girtin family, who continued to own the properties well into the nineteenth century. The artist’s son, Thomas Calvert Girtin (1801–74), sold Turver’s Farm in 1859, presumably having inherited it from either his mother, Mary Ann Girtin (1781–1843), or his grandfather, Borrett (Cambridge Chronicle and Journal, 10 September 1859). This must have been how he also came to own two other views of Borrett’s Essex properties, including what appears to be the pair of this work (TG1414), and they were not, as Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David Loshak thought, inherited from his father’s studio (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.179). Indeed, the personal family associations of these works may have gone even further, since the commission from Borrett was presumably the occasion of the artist’s first meeting with his future wife, Mary Ann. Girtin, it must be remembered, married the daughter of a wealthy London-based patron, and it is not surprising that of all of the artist’s works that featured in the family’s extensive collection, these Essex views appear to have remained in their possession for the longest period.

Even more so than its pair, this work is badly faded, with the blue of the sky, the grey of the clouds and the green of the vegetation having been lost or compromised completely. No doubt the watercolour has been exhibited in a strong light, and this has facilitated the fading process, but fundamentally it was Girtin’s choice of fugitive pigments used in multiple thin washes that caused the problem. Just two unstable pigments, probably blue indigo and yellow gamboge, would have been enough to account for the drastic deterioration seen here, though the artist did use another blue pigment, perhaps ultramarine, for the reflection in the pond, which has remained relatively unaffected. The comparison with the rest of the composition points up the sad consequence of its faded condition: it appears unfinished and sloppily produced. At least some impression of the work’s original appearance can be gained, however, from the other view of the farmhouse (TG1452), which, although not in perfect condition, has not deteriorated to such an inordinate degree.

(?) 1799

Pinckney’s Farm, Radwinter

TG1452

(?) 1799

Turver’s Farm, Wimbish

TG1414

(?) 1799

A Mill in Essex

TG1416

(?) 1799

Turver’s Farm, Wimbish

TG1414

(?) 1799

Pinckney’s Farm, Radwinter

TG1452