- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) after (?) John Henderson (1764-1843)
- Title
-
- The Town of Rye, Seen from the Marshes
- Date
- 1795 - 1796
- Medium and Support
- Graphite on wove paper
- Dimensions
- 18.6 × 26.9 cm, 7 ⁵⁄₁₆ × 10 ⅝ in
- Object Type
- Outline Drawing; Work after an Amateur Artist
- Subject Terms
- Coasts and Shipping; Gothic Architecture: Parish Church; Sussex View
-
- Collection
- Versions
-
The Town of Rye, Seen from the Marshes
(TG1752)
- Catalogue Number
- TG0241
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 94i as '1795'
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001 and May 2025
Provenance
Charles Sackville Bale (1791–1880); his posthumous sale, possibly Christie’s, 16 May 1881, lot 391 (9 items); bought by 'Palser', £3 5s; J. Palser & Sons; Edward Cohen (1817–86); then by bequest to his niece, Isabella Oswald (1838–1905); her posthumous sale, Robins & Hine, 30 March 1905, lot unknown; bought by Thomas Girtin (1874–1960), £1; given to Tom Girtin (1913–94), c.1938; bought by John Baskett on behalf of Paul Mellon (1907–99), 1970; presented to the Center, 1975
Exhibition History
New Haven, 1986a, no.31
Place depicted
Other entries in Monro School Copies:
British Views, Including Works after the Outlines of John Henderson
An Upland Landscape with a Rainbow, Said to Be Lowther Fells
Kendal Town Hall
Windsor Castle and Park with Deer
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Tonbridge Bridge and Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The High Rocks, near Tunbridge Wells
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
The Town of Rye, Seen from the Marshes
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Dover Castle, Seen from the Beach
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
An Upland Scene with a Wooded Valley
Leeds University Art Gallery
Ullswater: Looking Towards the Head of the Lake
Tate, London
Unidentified Medieval Ruins, with Agricultural Buildings
Tate, London
A View near Keswick, Probably Bassenthwaite Lake
Private Collection
Skiddaw and Bassenthwaite Lake, from the Vale of Newlands
Private Collection
Looking South into Borrowdale, from the Shore of Derwentwater
Private Collection
Mountainous Landscape, Possibly in the Lake District
Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool
Boon Crag Cottage, with Coniston Water Beyond
Private Collection
A View in Cumbria, Probably Looking from Irton Fell towards Ravenglass
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
A View in Cumbria, Looking towards Irton and the Irish Sea, with the Isle of Man in the Distance
Tate, London
The River Leven, Cumbria, Viewed from Penny Bridge
Tate, London
St John's Vale, Cumbria
Private Collection
The Lodore Falls
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Langdale Pikes
Private Collection
An Unidentified Bridge over a Stream, Possibly in North Wales
Private Collection
Derwentwater, with Skiddaw in the Distance
Eton College, Windsor
Beddgelert Bridge, North Wales
Private Collection
Nant Mill, Betws Garmon, North Wales
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
A Mountainous River Landscape with a Bridge
Private Collection
Cynwyd Mill, near Corwen, North Wales
Brandler Galleries, Brentwood
Conwy: The Town Walls from the South East
Tate, London
Raglan Castle: The Great Hall
Private Collection
A Mountainous Landscape with an Unidentified Bridge, Possibly in North Wales
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Iron Bridge at Coalbrookdale
Private Collection
An Estuary, Possibly Dartmouth
Private Collection
Grasmere: Looking North West to Helm Crag
Private Collection
The Head of Lake Windermere
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
The Head of Derwentwater, with the Lodore Falls
Private Collection
Dover Harbour, with Shipping Being Overhauled
Tate, London
A Two-Master in Dover Harbour, with the Castle Beyond
Tate, London
Dover Harbour: A Ship Being Overhauled
Tate, London
A Boat on the Shore, near Shakespeare Cliff, Dover
Tate, London
Dover Harbour: Fishing Vessels, Their Sails Drying
Tate, London
Shipping in Dover Harbour, with the Castle Beyond
Tate, London
Ullswater: Looking South to the Head of the Lake
Private Collection
A General View of Dover Harbour, from the East
Tate, London
Dover Harbour: Small Boats by the Quay
Tate, London
Boats in Dover Harbour
British Museum, London
An Unidentified Waterfall
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
A Ship under Repair in Dover Harbour
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
Borrowdale: The View from Rosthwaite
Private Collection
Figures on a Fishing Vessel in Dover Harbour
Private Collection
A Fishing Vessel with Hastings Beyond
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
Dover Castle from the Sea
Private Collection
A Beached Vessel in the Inner Harbour at Dover
Private Collection
Dover Harbour, with the Castle on the Hill
British Museum, London
Dover Harbour
Private Collection
Beached Vessels in Dover Harbour, the Castle in the Distance
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton
Vessels Anchored in Dover Harbour, with the Castle Beyond
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Warehouses with Shipping in Dover Harbour
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton
Vessels in the Harbour at Dover, with the Castle Beyond
Private Collection
Dover Harbour, with the Cliffs Beyond
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart
Vessels Moored in Dover Harbour
Private Collection
The Inner Harbour, Dover, with the Castle Beyond
Brighton Museum and Art Gallery
A Ship Drawn Up on a Beach Being Careened
Private Collection
Beached Fishing Vessels, Dover Harbour
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
Beached Fishing Vessels in the Harbour at Dover
Private Collection
Boats Anchored in Dover Harbour
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Boats Anchored in Dover Harbour
Private Collection
Dover Harbour, with Fishing Boats at Low Tide
The High Museum of Art, Atlanta
Dover: The Harbour with Vessels
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
A Smack in Dover Harbour, Drying Sails, with the Old Church in the Distance
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Dover Harbour: A Boat under Repair
Private Collection
Fishing Boats at Low Tide, near Dover
Courtauld Gallery, London
Dover: Two Boatmen Standing by the Prow of a Brig
Private Collection
Dover Harbour
Private Collection
A Fisherman's Cottage, Said to Be at Dover
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Hull of a Ship under Repair, with a Barge and Smaller Boats
Tate, London
A Boat-Builder’s Yard, Possibly on the River Medway
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
A Boat-Builder’s Yard, Possibly on the Medway
Private Collection
A Boat-Builder’s Yard, Possibly on the River Medway
Private Collection
A Boat-Builder's Shed, Possibly on the River Medway
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
A Boat-Builder’s Shed, Possibly on the River Medway, with a Fishing Boat with Drying Sails
Tate, London
The Coast, near Dover
The Higgins, Bedford
Folkestone Harbour
Julian Huxley-Parlour Fine Art, London
Beachy Head, Looking towards Newhaven
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Beachy Head, Looking towards Newhaven
Ulster Museum, Belfast
Shakespeare Cliff, Dover
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
Beached Vessels in Dover Harbour, the Castle in the Distance
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Buildings on a Wooden Quayside
Private Collection
A Coast View with Chalk Cliffs, Probably from near Beachy Head
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Small Boat under Repair by a Jetty
Private Collection
Dover: Snargate Street, Looking West
Private Collection
Dartford High Street
Private Collection
Tonbridge Bridge and Castle
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
Rye, from the River Tillingham
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Dover: Fishing Boats at Low Tide
Private Collection
Two Boatmen Caulking the Bows of a Beached Brig, Probably at Dover
Private Collection
Hastings: A Beached Fishing Boat
Private Collection
A Coastal Scene at Dover
Worthing Museum and Art Gallery
Mickleham Church
Tate, London
An Overshot Mill
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Dolbadarn Castle on Llyn Padarn
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
Conwy Castle, from the East
Huddersfield Art Gallery
Harlech Castle, from the South
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
The Gatehouse, Harlech Castle, Seen from the Moat
Private Collection, Gloucestershire
The High Street at Egham
Private Collection
A Packhorse Bridge
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
Boats in Dover Harbour
Leeds Art Gallery
A Dismasted Boat in Dover Harbour
Harvard Art Museums / Fogg Museum
Two Trees Overlooking a Meandering River
Private Collection
A Dilapidated Cottage
Private Collection
Dover: Boats Anchored in the Harbour
Private Collection
A Coastal View near Dover, probably at St Margaret's, Cliffe
Private Collection
Dover: Beached Boats, with the Castle Beyond
Private Collection
Dover Harbour: The Stern of a Large Ship, and Smaller Vessels
Tate, London
The Town of Rye, Seen from the Marshes
British Museum, London
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About this Work
This pencil drawing, showing the hilltop coastal town of Rye from the marshes to the south east, was used by Girtin as the basis for at least one studio watercolour (TG1752). The panoramic view with a sunset effect was produced for John Henderson (1764–1843) and, as so often was the case with the works that Girtin created for him, it is likely that its source was ultimately a sketch taken by the patron himself, though this has not been traced. At one point it was thought that Girtin had travelled to Sussex in 1795 with another early patron, the amateur artist and antiquarian James Moore (1762–99), and that he had made a number of sketches in the county (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.28). However, the majority of Girtin’s views of antiquarian subjects in the county can be shown to be copies after Moore, whilst the coastal scenes, as here, appear to be after Henderson, and it is improbable that this image was sketched from nature. The view Rye, from the River Tillingham (TG0846), which Girtin and Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) appear to have collaborated on to create a work for another early patron, Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833), also seems to have been made after a sketch by Henderson, and it is surely not a coincidence that the Rye view and this outline drawing share the same measurements as well as a similar approach to the subject. The two works would, I suggest, make for a good pairing, and one can well imagine that Turner could have transformed this outline into something comparable to the other Rye view – from the river Tillingham – with the addition of just a few washes of blue and grey. Indeed, perhaps this is what we are looking at here – the first stage in the production of a Monro School subject – though the fact that it was also used by Girtin as the basis for a later studio watercolour must mean that he kept the drawing, and, indeed, it was perhaps at this point that it acquired the spots of colour on the front and back.
1796 - 1797
The Town of Rye, Seen from the Marshes
TG1752
1795 - 1796
Rye, from the River Tillingham
TG0846