Dated Watercolour

• Durham Cathedral, from the River Wear (TG0228)

1 January 1795

The Monument (see print after TG0030) is published in Charles Taylor’s (1756–1823) publication The Temple of Taste (Taylor, 1794–96).

2 February 1795

Front of the Royal Academy, Strand (see print after TG0025) is published in Charles Taylor’s (1756–1823) publication The Temple of Taste (Taylor, 1794–96).

28 March 1795

The 360-degree Panorama of London from the Roof of Albion Mills, produced by Robert Barker (1739–1806) and Henry Aston Barker (1774–1856), opens in their building at Leicester Square and runs until 13 February 1796.

1 April 1795

Henry VII’s Chapel, in Westminster Abbey (see print after TG0026) is published in Charles Taylor’s (1756–1823) publication The Temple of Taste (Taylor, 1794–96).

3 April 1795

On the back of The West Front of Peterborough Cathedral (TG1018) is inscribed: ‘Recd 3d April 1795 of Mr Jas Moore / One Pound Eleven Shillgs 6d for / a Drawing of Peterborough Cathd. / £1. 11. 6 – Thos Girtin’. ‘Mr Jas Moore’ refers to James Moore (1762–99), Girtin’s first important patron.

April–July 1795

Royal Academy of Arts, London, The Exhibition of the Royal Academy, M,DCC,XCV: The Twenty-Seventh

Thomas Girtin’s address is given as ‘St. Martin’s le Grand’. His exhibits are listed as:

Antique Academy

• 356 – ‘Warwick castle’

Council Room

• 611 – ‘Peterborough cathedral’ (TG1017)
• 636 – ‘Lichfield Cathedral’ (TG1002)

Thomas Girtin’s exhibits at the Academy in 1795 were the outcome of his tour of the Midlands in the summer of 1794 accompanying his patron James Moore (1762–99). The exhibition also featured eight watercolours by Girtin’s great contemporary, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), including works which resulted from his own tour of the Midlands. One of these, ‘West entrance of Peterborough cathedral’, replicates Girtin’s composition allowing visitors to make a direct comparison between the two artists for the first time. Turner’s watercolours are titled in the catalogue:

• 411 – ‘St. Hugh’s, the Burgundian’s porch at Lincoln Cathedral’
• 581 – ‘Marford mill, Wrexham, Denbighshire’
• 585 – ‘West entrance of Peterborough cathedral’
• 589 – ‘Transept of Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire’
• 593 – ‘Welsh Bridge, Shrewsbury’
• 609 – ‘View near the Devil’s bridge, with the River Ryddol, Cardiganshire’
• 616 – ‘A view in King’s College, Oxford’
• 621 – ‘Cathedral church at Lincoln’

1 May 1795

The Banqueting House, Whitehall (see print after TG0039) is published in Charles Taylor’s (1756–1823) publication The Temple of Taste (Taylor, 1794–96).

21–23 May 1795

‘Remarks on the Exhibition of Paintings, &c. at the Royal Academy, Somerset-Place’, St James’s Chronicle or the British Evening Post, 21–23 May 1795, p.4

There are also several good Drawings of Landscapes by E. Dayes, R. Cooper, A. Noel, E. Kennion, J. Girtin, and J. Glover.

1 June 1795

West Front of St Martin’s Church (see print after TG0037) is published in Charles Taylor’s (1756–1823) publication The Temple of Taste (Taylor, 1794–96).

1 July 1795

Front of St Paul’s, London (see print after TG0043) is published in Charles Taylor’s (1756–1823) publication The Temple of Taste (Taylor, 1794–96).

1 August 1795

West Front of Westminster Abbey (see print after TG0044) is published in Charles Taylor’s (1756–1823) publication The Temple of Taste (Taylor, 1794–96).

August–September 1795

Charles Bell argued that Girtin accompanied his patron James Moore (1762–99) in the summer months on his trip to Sussex and the Cinque Ports, though there is no conclusive evidence of this in the form of dated sketches or other documentary records (Bell, 1915–17, p.76). Dated drawings by Moore from this trip include views of Hastings (6, 8 and 18 August), Battle (7 August), Bexhill (21 August), Icklesham (5 September), Rye (16 September) and Saltwood (17 September). In turn, Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) thought that the artist joined Moore for at least part of the trip (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.28). However, drawings such as The West Tower, All Saints’ Church, Hastings (TG0227) appear to have been worked on by Girtin at a later date and the idea that Girtin travelled to the south coast seems increasingly unlikely.

1 September 1795

St. George’s Church Hanover Square (see print after TG0032) is published in Charles Taylor’s (1756–1823) publication The Temple of Taste (Taylor, 1794–96).

1 October 1795

Black-Fryers Bridge (see print after TG0038) is published in Charles Taylor’s (1756–1823) publication The Temple of Taste (Taylor, 1794–96).

1 November 1795

Parade Front of the Horse-Guards (see print after TG0040) is published in Charles Taylor’s (1756–1823) publication The Temple of Taste (Taylor, 1794–96).

26 November 1795

Kenneth Garlick and others, eds., The Diary of Joseph Farington (Farington, Diary, 26 November 1795)

Joseph Farington (1747–1821) records that:

Dr Monro & Steers called on me. Dr. Monro wishes to obtain admission to the Royal Academy for Girtin, a young man of 20 years of age, as a student. I told him I wd. undertake to obtain it if he is sufficiently advanced in drawing the human figure.

1 December 1795

Side View of St. Paul’s, London (see print after TG0042) is published in Charles Taylor’s (1756–1823) publication The Temple of Taste (Taylor, 1794–96).

Kenneth Garlick and others, eds., The Diary of Joseph Farington (Farington, Diary, 1 December 1795)

Joseph Farington (1747–1821) records that:

Dr Monro's collection of drawings by modern artists is larger than any I hvae before seen.

I looked over a Portfolio of outlines of Shipping & Boats made at Dover by Henderson. Very ingenious & careful.