1797 Documents
Documents, Dated Watercolours and Early Accounts of the Artist
Dated Watercolours
- Bamburgh Castle, from the Village (TG1459)
- An Interior View of the Ruins of Lindisfarne Priory Church (TG1107)
2 January 1797
Manchester (see print after TG0257) is published in The Copper-Plate Magazine (Walker, 1792–1802).
1 February 1797
Lincoln Cathedral (see print after TG1006) is published in The Copper-Plate Magazine (Walker, 1792–1802).
1 March 1797
Exeter (see print after TG0092) is published in The Copper-Plate Magazine (Walker, 1792–1802).
Duff-House, Bamffshire (see print after TG0184) is published in The Copper-Plate Magazine (Walker, 1792–1802).
4 March 1797
Mr King, Drawings, A Very Fine Collection of Drawings, Etchings & Prints, London, 1–4 March 1797
Day 4
Includes works by Thomas Girtin:
- 27 – ‘Three, Landscapes, in water colours, by Girtin’. Sold for 12s
- 28 – ‘Five, Ditto’. Sold for 7s 6d
25 March 1797
Lincoln (see print after TG1010) is published in Bartholomew Howlett’s A Selection of Views in the County of Lincoln (Howlett, 1805).
14 April 1797
Kenneth Garlick and others, eds., The Diary of Joseph Farington (Farington, Diary, 14 April 1797)
Dining at the home of Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833) with John Henderson (1764–1843), Joseph Farington (1747–1821) records that
‘Dr. Monros house is full of drawings. In the dining Parlour 90 drawings framed & glazed are hung up, – and in the Drawing room 120. – They consist of drawings of Hearne, Barrett, Smith, Laporte, Turner, Wheatley, Girtin.
April–July 1797
Royal Academy of Arts, London, The Exhibition of the Royal Academy, M,DCC,XCVII: The Twenty-Ninth
Girtin’s address is given as ‘St Martin’s-le-Grand’. His exhibits are listed as:
Council Room
- 423 – ‘View of Jedborough Abbey, Scotland’ (TG1229 or TG1231)
- 428 – ‘Inside of St. Alban’s Cathedral Church’ (TG1040)
- 434 – ‘St. Cuthbert’s Cathedral, Holy Island’ (TG1107 or TG1108)
- 466 – ‘View of Jedborough Abbey’ (TG1229 or TG1231)
- 486 – ‘View of York’ (probably TG1046, TG1047, TG1050 or TG1655)
- 489 – ‘View of York’ (probably TG1046, TG1047, TG1050 or TG1655)
- 499 – ‘View of York’ (probably TG1046, TG1047, TG1050 or TG1655)
Antique Academy
Library
- 763 – ‘St. Cuthbert’s Cathedral, Holy Island’ (TG1107 or TG1108)
- 789 – ‘View of Ouse Bridge, York’ (?TG1041)
1797 was the only year in which Girtin displayed more works at the Academy than his great contemporary, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851). Perhaps not surprisingly this prompted at least one critic to compare the artist’s works in what was to become a common strategy amongst the anonymous reviewers of the period. In addition to two oil paintings, Turner’s watercolours are listed in the catalogue as:
- 427 – ‘Trancept of Ewenny Priory, Glamorganshire’
- 450 – ‘Choir of Salisbury Cathedral’
- 464 – ‘Ely Cathedral, South Trancept’
- 517 – ‘North porch of Salisbury Cathedral’
1 May 1797
Warkworth (see print after TG1099) is published in The Copper-Plate Magazine (Walker, 1792–1802).
Totness (see print after TG1272) is published in The Copper-Plate Magazine (Walker, 1792–1802).
19 May 1797
Messrs. Christie, Sharp, and Harper, A Catalogue of a Capital Assemblage of High-Finished Drawings and Some Few Pictures by Eminent Modern Artists: Collected by a Gentleman of the Most Approved Taste in the Fine Arts, 19–20 May 1797
The annotated copy of the catalogue in the archive of Christie’s, London, notes the seller as Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833). Includes works by Thomas Girtin:
- 2 – ‘Two views in Switzerland’. Sold for 8s
- 4 – ‘Two views of Hampstead’. Sold for 11s
- 7 – ‘St. Saviour’s Church, Southwark’. Sold for 14s
‘Framed and Glazed’
- 20 – ‘Two landscapes’. Sold for 13s
20–23 May 1797
Anonymous, ‘Exhibition of Paintings’, St. James’s Chronicle, 20–23 May 1797, p.4
Mr. GIRTIN’S Drawings, in general, appear to be formed on the style of TURNER; but though they possess considerable merit, it is evident that the Artist is careless in the detail and finishing.
20 May 1797
Messrs. Christie, Sharp, and Harper, A Catalogue of a Capital Assemblage of High-Finished Drawings and Some Few Pictures by Eminent Modern Artists: Collected by a Gentleman of the Most Approved Taste in the Fine Arts, 19–20 May 1797
The annotated copy of the catalogue in the archive of Christie’s, London, notes the seller as Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833). Includes works by Thomas Girtin:
- 1 – ‘Two views in the Tyrol and Italy’. Bought by ‘Lawson’ for £2 2s
- 2 – ‘Three of buildings’, one by ‘Laporte’. Unsold at a reserve of 10s
- 8 – ‘Croydon church, and a cottage scene’. Bought by ‘Lawson’ for £1 5s
- 9 – ‘Bridge at Newark’. Sold for £1 11s 6d
- 13 – ‘Two views in France’. Sold for £2 2s
- 14 – ‘One ditto’. Sold for £1 2s
4 June 1797
Kenneth Garlick and others, eds., The Diary of Joseph Farington (Farington, Diary, 4 June 1797)
Joseph Farington (1747–1821) notes that
Academy I went to & looked over pictures – Girtins drawings 18 Inches 4 guineas
25 June 1797
Langton Hall (see print after TG1028) is published in Bartholomew Howlett’s A Selection of Views in the County of Lincoln (Howlett, 1805).
1 July 1797
Newcastle, upon Tyne (see print after TG1081) is published in The Copper-Plate Magazine (Walker, 1792–1802).
22 August 1797
Croyland Abbey (see print after TG0286) is published in Bartholomew Howlett’s A Selection of Views in the County of Lincoln (Howlett, 1805).
1 September 1797
Bamborough-Castle, Northumberland (see print after TG1459) is published in The Copper-Plate Magazine (Walker, 1792–1802).
19 September 1797
Harrow on the Hill (see print after TG0187) is published anonymously by Thomas Brandard (unknown dates) to illustrate Daniel Lysons’ Environs of London, vol.2 (Lysons, 1792–96).
1 November 1797
Marlow-Bridge, Buckinghamshire (see print after TG0344a) is published in The Copper-Plate Magazine (Walker, 1792–1802).
Autumn 1797
Girtin tours the West Country, travelling clockwise and probably visiting Lulworth, Weymouth, Abbotsbury and Lyme Regis with an extended stay at Exeter in early November. Continuing westwards, the artist probably stops along the Exe, visiting in turn Exmouth, Starcross, Teignmouth, Shaldon, Kingswear, Berry Pomeroy, Totnes, Sharpham, Stonehouse and Plymouth before moving inland from the southern coast to Lydford and Okehampton, finally arriving at Appledore and the Taw river and estuary in late November. The return leg of the journey may have included visits to Wells and Bristol. Possible stops on the outward or return journey include Malmesbury, Southampton and Winchester.
6 November 1797
John Girtin (1773–1821) records of the artist that ‘a £5 note sent him to Exeter’ (Chancery, Income and Expenses, 1804).
21 November 1797
John Girtin (1773–1821) records that he sent the artist five pounds ‘to Biddeford’ and that three shillings were added to this to cover the cost ‘for porterage of the Sketch of Exeter Cathedral’ (Chancery, Income and Expenses, 1804). This presumably refers to the watercolour of the interior of Exeter cathedral (TG1256) commissioned by James Moore (1762–99).
1 December 1797
Jedburgh Abbey, Roxburghshire (see print after TG0104) is published in The Copper-Plate Magazine (Walker, 1792–1802).

1797
Bamburgh Castle, from the Village
TG1459

1797
An Interior View of the Ruins of Lindisfarne Priory Church
TG1107

1795 - 1796
Manchester: Chetham’s College from Hunt’s Bank, with the Bridge over the River Irwell
TG0257

1794 - 1795
Lincoln Cathedral: A Distant View from the North West
TG1006

1792 - 1793
The West Front of Exeter Cathedral, and St Mary Major
TG0092

1794
Duff House, from the River
TG0184

1794 - 1795
Lincoln, from the Brayford Pool
TG1010

1797 - 1798
The Village of Jedburgh, with the Abbey Ruins
TG1229

1796 - 1797
The West Front of Jedburgh Abbey
TG1231

1796
The Interior of St Albans Abbey
TG1040

1797
An Interior View of the Ruins of Lindisfarne Priory Church
TG1107

1796 - 1797
Lindisfarne: The Nave and Crossing of the Priory Church
TG1108

1797 - 1798
The Village of Jedburgh, with the Abbey Ruins
TG1229

1796 - 1797
The West Front of Jedburgh Abbey
TG1231

1796 - 1797
York: The New Walk on the Banks of the Ouse
TG1046

1796 - 1797
York Minster, from the South West
TG1047

1796 - 1797
The South Side of York Minster, Showing the Transept and the Western Towers
TG1050

1796 - 1797
York: Pavement, Looking towards All Saints
TG1655

1796 - 1797
York: The New Walk on the Banks of the Ouse
TG1046

1796 - 1797
York Minster, from the South West
TG1047

1796 - 1797
The South Side of York Minster, Showing the Transept and the Western Towers
TG1050

1796 - 1797
York: Pavement, Looking towards All Saints
TG1655

1796 - 1797
York: The New Walk on the Banks of the Ouse
TG1046

1796 - 1797
York Minster, from the South West
TG1047

1796 - 1797
The South Side of York Minster, Showing the Transept and the Western Towers
TG1050

1796 - 1797
York: Pavement, Looking towards All Saints
TG1655

1796 - 1797
York: The New Walk on the Banks of the Ouse
TG1046

1796 - 1797
York Minster, from the South West
TG1047

1796 - 1797
The South Side of York Minster, Showing the Transept and the Western Towers
TG1050

1796 - 1797
York: Pavement, Looking towards All Saints
TG1655

1797
An Interior View of the Ruins of Lindisfarne Priory Church
TG1107

1796 - 1797
Lindisfarne: The Nave and Crossing of the Priory Church
TG1108

1796 - 1797
The Ouse Bridge, York
TG1041

1796 - 1797
The Bridge at Warkworth, with the Castle Beyond
TG1099

1796 - 1797
Totnes, from the River Dart
TG1272

1796
Langton Hall
TG1028

1796 - 1797
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
TG1081

1793 - 1794
The West Front of Crowland Abbey
TG0286

1797
Bamburgh Castle, from the Village
TG1459

1794
Harrow-on-the-Hill
TG0187

1795 - 1796
A Distant View of Marlow, from the River Thames
TG0344a

1797
The Interior of Exeter Cathedral, Looking from the Nave
TG1256

1792 - 1793
Jedburgh Abbey, from the East
TG0104