- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- The River Nidd, between Knaresborough and Wetherby
- Date
- (?) 1800
- Medium and Support
- Graphite, watercolour and bodycolour on laid paper
- Dimensions
- 20.8 × 33.4 cm, 8 ³⁄₁₆ × 13 ⅛ in
- Inscription
'Girtin' lower left, by Thomas Girtin; 'Between Knaresborough and Wetherby' lower left on the back by (?) Thomas Girtin
- Object Type
- Studio Watercolour
- Subject Terms
- River Scenery; Yorkshire View
-
- Collection
- Versions
-
The River Nidd between Knaresborough and Wetherby
(TG1629)
- Catalogue Number
- TG1670
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in January 2025
Provenance
Mrs Charles W. Mitchell; bought from her by the Gallery, 1926
Place depicted
Other entries in Later Sketches:
Taken on the Spot and Worked in the Studio

Mountain Scenery, Said to Be near Beddgelert (page 15, reverse, of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

The Valley of the Glaslyn, near Beddgelert (page 15 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

Trees in a Glade Overlooking a Lake
Private Collection

Middleham Village, with the Castle Beyond
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

An Extensive Landscape with the Ruins of Mitford Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Plumpton Rocks, near Knaresborough
Private Collection

A Parkland Landscape with Cattle and Sheep
Private Collection

John Raphael Smith: 'Waiting for the Mail Coach' (mounted on page 1 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea (page 11 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

The Stables, Plompton Park (page 17 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

Harewood House, from the South West (page 18 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

Grimbald Bridge, near Knaresborough (page 20 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

The Abbey Mill, near Knaresborough (page 25 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

A Farmhouse in Malhamdale, Known as 'Kirkby Priory, near Malham' (page 26 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

Sandsend (page 29 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

Grimbald Crag, near Knaresborough (page 30 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

A Crag on the River Nidd (page 31 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

Guisborough Priory: The Ruined East End (page 33 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe
British Museum, London

An Interior View of the Choir of Bolton Priory
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe (page 37 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church, from across the River Wharfe (page 38 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

The East End of Bolton Priory Church (pages 38–39 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

A Distant View of Middleham Castle, with the River Ure in the Foreground (page 41 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

Middleham Village, with the Castle Beyond (page 42 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

A Village at the Bend of a River, Probably in Yorkshire (page 44 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

Beached Vessels at Low Tide (page 46 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

Five Craft off the Coast on a Calm Sea (page 47 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

Shipping off the Coast on a Calm Sea (page 48 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

The Ruins of Old Mulgrave Castle (page 49 of the Whitworth Book of Drawings)
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

Mulgrave Park and Castle, from near Epsyke Farm
British Museum, London

The River Nidd between Knaresborough and Wetherby
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence

Kirkstall Abbey, with a Canal Barge
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

The River Nidd, between Knaresborough and Wetherby
Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

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

A Clump of Trees by the Waterside
Private Collection

A Torrent by a Clump of Trees
Harvard Art Museums / Fogg Museum, Loan from George and Patti White

A River Valley and a Distant Hill Seen through Trees
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

A Shady Road Leading to Cottages
British Museum, London

A Church in a Village, Possibly at Radwinter
British Museum, London

A Building with a Tall Chimney, next to a Stream
British Museum, London

Landscape with a Farmhouse and Cottage
Private Collection

A Schooner near the Shore
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

A Coast Scene with Two Beached Vessels
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

A Shipping Study: Five Craft on a Calm Sea
British Museum, London
Footnotes
Revisions & Feedback
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About this Work
This view of the River Nidd between Knaresborough and Wetherby in Yorkshire appears to be based on a sketch produced by Girtin in 1800 (TG1629), though the status of that work and its claim to be produced on the spot has yet to be firmly established. Girtin spent part of the summer of that year with Edward Lascelles (1764–1814), for whom he produced a group of very large watercolours of the patron’s home, Harewood House (TG1547 and TG1548), together with other local scenes, including a distant view of Knaresborough (TG1669). Other scenes along the river Nidd (TG1550), as well as in Wetherby and Knaresborough, were based on sketches that Girtin made along its course in what amounted to a sustained campaign of on-the-spot studies. The majority of these were executed in pencil (TG1509), but some were enhanced with monochrome washes (TG1539) and so the inscription on the back of the dated version of this composition which asserts that it was ‘Coloured on the spot … Thos Girtin 1800’ may be correct. However, the fact that it is so much larger than all but one of the on-the-spot sketches, sharing the same dimensions as this sheet, as well as featuring cattle in the same carefully considered positions, suggests that the inscription and date might have been added by another hand. Could it be that an early owner was misled by Girtin’s spontaneous and rapid execution and misinterpreted a studio work? In which case what we have, as with Pegwell Bay, near Ramsgate (TG0217 and TG0372), is an example of Girtin replicating a composition using a technique that blurs the distinction between a sketch and a studio work with the aim of producing an innovative and attractive commodity at an accessible price.
Sadly, the work is badly faded, though it is unlikely to have been brightly coloured originally. A strip to the left and another partly across the top, both of which were once protected from the damaging effect of light by an old mount, highlights the deterioration in condition as well as indicating that the drawing originally included a skyscape that has disappeared. The faded condition of the work was no doubt exacerbated by Girtin’s choice of pigments. Of the fifteen Girtin is recorded to have used, at least four are very fugitive: a blue, indigo; two yellows, gamboge and brown pink; and a purple, brown lake. A description by William Henry Pyne (1770–1843) of Girtin at work indicates the likely factors involved (Pyne, 1823a, p.67).1 Girtin’s skies are particularly susceptible, since, as Pyne noted, the azure spaces between the clouds were often created using a mix of indigo and lake, and their shadows commonly employed light red and indigo. Subsequent fading means that the blues have often disappeared entirely, whilst the grey parts of the cloud are often reduced to an orange-red. The earth pigments Girtin used for buildings and for his foregrounds are more stable, but the greens employed for depicting vegetation introduced another problem. There was no readily available dependable green pigment at this date; the variety of tones had to be mixed from blue and yellow, and, as Pyne again records, Girtin often used a combination of gamboge and indigo. As a result, many of his trees have been reduced to monochrome or a muddy khaki colour at the expense of the original sense of depth.
1800
The River Nidd between Knaresborough and Wetherby
TG1629
(?) 1801
Harewood House, from the South West
TG1547
(?) 1801
Harewood House, from the South East
TG1548
1801
A Distant View of Knaresborough, from the South East
TG1669
1800
Buildings on the River Nidd, near Knaresborough
TG1550
1799 - 1800
Grimbald Bridge, near Knaresborough
TG1509
1799 - 1800
Knaresborough, from the North West
TG1539
(?) 1795
Pegwell Bay, near Ramsgate
TG0217
1796
Pegwell Bay, near Ramsgate
TG0372