- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- The Eildon Hills, from the River Tweed
- Date
- 1800
- Medium and Support
- Graphite, watercolour and scratching out on laid paper
- Dimensions
- 49.3 × 64.3 cm, 19 ⅜ × 25 ¼ in
- Inscription
‘Girtin 1800’ lower left, by Thomas Girtin
- Object Type
- Studio Watercolour; Visible Fold in the Paper
- Subject Terms
- River Scenery; The Scottish Borders; Hills and Mountains
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- TG1718
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 354 as 'The Eildon Hills, near Melrose'
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001
Provenance
James Stuart-Wortley, 1st Baron Wharncliffe (1776–1845); B. M. Oliver; his sale, Christie’s, 27 April 1867, lot 2 as 'Eildon Hills, near Abbotsford. Signed 1800. From Lord Wharncliffe’s Collection' (noted as 'faded'); bought by 'Noseda'; Thomas Calvert Girtin (1801–74); then by descent to George Wyndham Hog Girtin (1835–1911) (lent to London, 1875; London, 1877); then by descent to Thomas Girtin (1874–1960); presented to the Museum, 1920
Exhibition History
London, 1875, no.56 as ’Eildon Hills, Melrose’; London, 1877, no.310 as ’Weston, River Wharfe’; London, 1912, no.41 as 'Eildon Hills, near Melrose'; Edinburgh, 1978, no.8.2 as 'The Eildon Hills and the Tweed near Melrose'
Bibliography
Stoddart, 1801, p.279; Mayne, 1949, pl.30; Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.74 Holloway and Errington, 1978, p.92; Rock, 1997, p.192; Bonehill, Beveridge and Leask, 2021, p.155
Place depicted
Other entries in Late Watercolours:
Samuel William Reynolds and Painting for the Art Market

An Imaginary City, with Antique Buildings
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence

Ancient Ruins, with an Obelisk
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Ancient Ruins, with a Gothic Church
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

A Classical Composition, with a Church and Column
Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool

The Arch of Janus, Rome
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

The Temple of Clitumnus
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Rome: The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Rome: The Temple of Saturn, with the Arch of Septimius Severus
Private Collection

A Town on an Estuary
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence

A Lagoon Capriccio
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery

An Unidentified Coastal Landscape with a Windmill
Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight

Barnard Castle, from the River Tees
Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle

A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

An Exterior View of the Ruins of Lindisfarne Priory Church
Lindisfarne Priory, Northumberland (English Heritage)

Kelso Abbey: The West Front
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

Jedburgh Abbey, from the Riverbank
The Higgins, Bedford

On the River Medway, with a Boatyard, Beached Vessels and Hulks
Private Collection

Bisham Abbey, on the River Thames
Private Collection

A Classical Composition, with Figures Admiring the Sculptures
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

An Unidentified Ruin next to a Bridge over a Stream, Said to Be Furness Abbey
Touchstones Rochdale

The Gatehouse of Morpeth Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Buildings on the River Nidd, near Knaresborough
British Museum, London

Kirkstall Abbey, from Kirkstall Hill
British Museum, London

Kirkstall Abbey, from Kirkstall Bridge, Morning
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Kirkstall Abbey, from the Canal, Evening
Private Collection

A Distant View of Kirkstall Abbey
Williamson Art Gallery & Museum, Birkenhead

An Unidentified Scene, Formerly Known as ‘Kirkstall Village’
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Wetherby Bridge and Mills, Looking across the Weir
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Wetherby: Looking through the Bridge to the Mills
British Museum, London

Wetherby: Looking through the Bridge to the Mills
Leeds Art Gallery

Kirk Deighton, near Wetherby
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

York: The New Walk on the Banks of the River Ouse
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

York: The Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

York: The Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern
Private Collection

York Minster from the South East, Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern to the Right
Private Collection

A Farmyard with Barns, Ladder and Figures; A Sky Study
Courtauld Gallery, London

Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Leeds Art Gallery

Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery

A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell
Private Collection

Ripon Minster, from the South East
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Ripon Minster, from the South West
Private Collection

The Abbey Mill, near Knaresborough
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

A Mountain Stream in Spate, Possibly the River Wharfe
Private Collection

Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church from across the River Wharfe
Eton College, Windsor

Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church, from across the River Wharfe
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff

Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church, from across the River Wharfe
Leeds Art Gallery

Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Private Collection

Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Private Collection

The Banks of the River Wharfe, with Bolton Abbey in the Distance
Private Collection

Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe, near Bolton Abbey
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe, near Bolton Abbey
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Storiths Heights, near Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

Richmond Castle, from the River Swale
Leeds Art Gallery

A Farmhouse in Malhamdale, Known as 'Kirkby Priory, near Malham'
British Museum, London

An Ancient Oak, Said to Be on the River Ure
Private Collection

Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery

Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Private Collection, Norfolk

Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Private Collection

Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Guisborough Priory: The Ruined East End
Tate, London

A Distant View of Guisborough Priory; The Tithe Barn, Abbotsbury
Private Collection, Norfolk

A Distant View of Guisborough Priory
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

A Distant View of Guisborough Priory
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Private Collection

Warkworth Castle, from the River Coquet
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

An Upland Landscape, Said to Show Etal Castle
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The River Tweed at Kelso, Looking Upstream
Courtauld Gallery, London

The Eildon Hills, from the River Tweed
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

A Distant View of Dryburgh Abbey, with the Eildon Hills Beyond
Private Collection

The Valley of the Tweed, with Melrose Abbey in the Distance
Private Collection

Jedburgh Abbey, from Jed Water
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

Jedburgh Abbey, from the South East
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

The Village of Jedburgh
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Southampton: The South Gate and Old Gaol
Private Collection

Bristol Harbour, with St Mary Redcliffe in the Distance
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery

A Wharf with Shipping, Possibly at Bristol
Art Institute of Chicago

A Rainbow over the River Exe
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

A Rainbow over the River Exe
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino

A Rainbow over the River Exe
Graves Gallery, Sheffield

Lydford Castle, from the River Lyd
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

St Vincent’s Rocks and the Avon Gorge
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

On the River Taw, North Devon, Looking from Braunton Marsh towards Instow and Appledore
National Gallery of Art, Washington

Conwy Castle, from the River Gyffin
Private Collection, Norfolk

Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea (The White House, Chelsea)
Tate, London

Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea
Private Collection, Norfolk

A Panoramic Landscape, with Figures Trawling a Pond
Private Collection

Landscape with a Distant Ridge, Possibly Hampstead Heath
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

An Inn Yard, Edgware Road, Paddington
British Museum, London

The Thames from a Window of the Old Toy Inn, Hampton Court
British Museum, London

The Old Cottage, Widmore, near Bromley
British Museum, London

Shipping on the River Medway
Museum of New Zealand, Wellington

A Farmyard with Cattle, Poultry and Labourers Unloading Hay, Possibly Pinkney's Farm, Wimbish
Art Institute of Chicago

Farmhouse and Outbuildings, Possibly in Essex
Aberdeen Art Gallery

An Unidentified Village Street with a Church Tower in the Distance
British Museum, London

A Panoramic Landscape, Possibly Showing Primrose Hill, London
Private Collection

Unidentified Landscape with a Distant Rain Shower
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff

Warkworth Church, with the Bridge Beyond
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

An Italianate Landscape with Two Monks
Private Collection
Footnotes
- 1 His photograph of the view from Dryburgh, annotated with his thoughts on Girtin's viewpoint, is in the Girtin Archive (35).
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About this Work
This very faded watercolour, which dates from 1800, shows a distant view of the Eildon Hills taken from the river Tweed in the Scottish Borders. Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David Loshak thought that the view depicted was from Melrose (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.182), but Tom Girtin (1913–94) suggested that the angle of the hills accords much better with the view from Dryburgh, where Girtin is known to have stayed in 1800 with the 11th Earl of Buchan (1742–1829) at Dryburgh Abbey, his seat adjacent to the monastic ruins that Girtin depicted in three watercolours (TG1120, TG1121 and TG1719) (Jenkins, Notes, 1852).1 The authors of the catalogue of Girtin’s watercolours also suggested that the work came from Buchan’s collection, though this cannot be substantiated, and we do not know the identity of the ‘friend’ who lent the work to the author John Stoddart (1773–1856) in 1801 for engraving as an illustration to his Remarks on Local Scenery and Manners in Scotland during the Years 1799 and 1800 (see the print after, above) (Stoddart, 1801, p.279). Indeed, at one point it did cross my mind that the work may have been copied from another source, rather than originally having been sketched on the spot, following the discovery of a strikingly similar image by the amateur artist Thomas Sunderland (1744–1828) (see figure 1). This, however, must have been copied from the print, and I now suspect that the work was produced on commission from a sketch made in 1800, as it does not conform to the size of the watercolours that Girtin was supplying at this date to Samuel William Reynolds (1773–1835), who acted on behalf of the artist in his final years in a role somewhere between agent and dealer. Surely it is not the case that Girtin made the watercolour for reproduction, as with many of his earlier topographical views. Stoddart thus mentions in the body of his text that he was grateful to be ‘able to insert a scene from a drawing of Mr. Girtin, executed with all that spirit and effect for which he is so remarkable’, so that it was as an example of the still-living artist’s skill that the work was included, rather than for its subject. Sadly, this is very difficult to appreciate today as a result of the work’s poor, faded condition. The hand-coloured aquatint, combined with the evidence of a thin strip around the work that was once protected from the detrimental effects of light, can give only a slight idea of its original appearance, prior to the loss of all the greys in the clouds and the blues in the sky, and the complete corruption of the greens of the vegetation. Consequently, I am not sure how Girtin and Loshak justified characterising the watercolour as an ‘intensely poetic’ conception, arguing that it is ‘most spacious, for here Girtin has suggested immense depth’, since a sense of space and distance is dependent on the subtleties of aerial perspective, which is singly lacking here (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.74).
If anything the faded condition of the watercolour has enhanced what James Holloway and Lindsay Errington in their pioneering publication The Discovery of Scotland characterised as Girtin’s ‘unprecedented’ appreciation of the pictorial potential of ‘austere unenclosed expanses of rolling hill … in its melancholy starkness’ (Holloway and Errington, 1978, p.92). And this is also true of Girtin’s second view of the Eildon Hills shown in an exaggerated form beyond the ruins of Dryburgh Abbey (TG1719). That said, it must be remembered that Girtin did not travel further into Scotland and the Highlands and with the exception of these two watercolours he concentrated on more conventional picturesque and antiquarian sites in the Borders. As Holloway and Errington again note, Girtin visited the region before the publication by Walter Scott (1771–1832) of his immensely popular The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border (1802/03) and The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805) which dramatically transformed the grounds on which the landscape of the Borders might be appreciated. And, in consequence, he produced some of the last views of the area that were not suffused with poetic associations derived from Scott’s writing.
1797 - 1798
Dryburgh Abbey: The South Transept Looking North
TG1120
1797 - 1799
Dryburgh Abbey: The South Transept from the Cloister
TG1121
1800 - 1801
A Distant View of Dryburgh Abbey, with the Eildon Hills Beyond
TG1719
1800 - 1801
A Distant View of Dryburgh Abbey, with the Eildon Hills Beyond
TG1719