Large Print British Watercolours From the Collection of BNY Mellon Tennant Gallery Do not remove from gallery
Tennant Gallery British Watercolours From the Collection of BNY Mellon 25 September 16 December 2018 Contents Page 2 Introduction Page 4 List of works Seating Showcase Way In and Out Reference Catalogue Sponsored by 1
British Watercolours from the Collection of BNY Mellon The period between c.1770 and c.1870 can be described as a Golden Age for watercolour painting in Britain. Because the materials required for making watercolours were easily transportable the medium became extremely popular with British artists and travellers, who began to explore the further reaches of the British Isles as well as Continental Europe during these years. The Royal Academy had an ambivalent attitude towards watercolour painting in its early days (it was considered an inferior genre to oil painting). However, many remarkable examples were exhibited at the Academy s annual exhibitions. 2
This exhibition includes fine watercolours by artists such as Paul Sandby, Thomas Jones, John Robert Cozens, Francis Towne, JMW Turner, John Sell Cotman, David Cox, Peter de Wint and John Frederick Lewis. They explored the possibilities of this delicate medium and took it to new heights. Much of their output consisted of topographical landscape painting and their works provide a fascinating record of the scenery and buildings of the period. The BNY Mellon collection was formed during the 1980s and 1990s, before the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Financial Corporation in 2007 with a view to creating a visual reminder of the legacy of the Mellon family, and especially Paul Mellon, one of the twentieth-century s greatest collectors. 3
List of works (clockwise in order of hang) Numbers shown are from the exhibition Catalogue, available for reference in the centre of the Gallery and on sale in the RA Shop. Cat. 11 Joseph Mallord William Turner RA 1775 1851 Barnard Castle?Mid-1820s Watercolour and pencil Cat. 12 John Constable RA 1776 1837 Hampstead 1833 Watercolour over traces of pencil 4
Cat. 2 Thomas Gainsborough RA 1727 1788 Landscape with Herdsmen and Cattle Mid-1770s Black and white chalk and stump on grey paper Cat. 13 John Constable RA 1776 1837 Abingdon Abbey, Berkshire 1821 Pencil and grey wash 5
Cat. 17 Peter De Wint 1784 1849 Nottingham Castle from the Trent c.1847 1848 Watercolour Showcase Cat. 21 John Frederick Lewis RA 1805 1876 Study of a Bedouin Arab with a Jambiya 1840s Pencil, black chalk and watercolour, heightened with gouache 6
Cat. 18 Sir David Wilkie RA 1785 1841 King William IV?1833 Pen and brown ink On the wall Cat. 23 Richard Dadd 1817 1886 The Passions: Drunkenness 1854 Watercolour on brown paper 7
Cat. 3 Francis Towne 1739 1816 Looking from Ambleside across Lake Windermere 1786 Pencil, pen and brown ink, watercolour with gum Cat. 5 Michael Angelo Rooker ARA 1743 1801 Westminster Hall, London Early 1770s Watercolour over pencil 8
Cat. 7 John Warwick Smith 1749 1831 The Riviera di Chiaia and the Villa Reale, Naples 1785 Watercolour over pencil Cat. 6 Francis Wheatley RA 1747 1801 The Salmon Leap at Leixlip on the Liffey 1783 Watercolour 9
Cat. 1 Paul Sandby RA 1725 1809 Bayswater Turnpike, London, Seen from the West c.1790 Gouache Cat. 8 John Robert Cozens 1752 1797 Lake Nemi?1779 Watercolour over pencil 10
Cat. 4 Thomas Jones 1742 1803 A View from the Capuchin Convent at Albano Looking over Castel Gandolfo towards Rome?1777 Watercolour over pencil Cat. 24 John Ruskin 1819 1900 San Giorgio Maggiore, the Basin of St Mark s and a Balcony of Casa Contarini-Fasan 1876 Watercolour over pencil, heightened with gouache with touches of pen and ink 11
Cat. 9 William Daniell RA 1769 1837 Glen in Windsor Great Park, near Bishopsgate 1827 Watercolour over pencil with scratching out Cat. 14 Cornelius Varley 1781 1873 Nottingham Castle from the Trent c.1828 Watercolour with touches of gouache 12
Cat. 10 François Louis Thomas Francia (1772 1839) French Infantry Halted on the March in front of a Farmhouse 1827 Watercolour with pen and red-brown ink with touches of gouache Cat. 20 Samuel Palmer (1805 1881) A Farm near Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire c.1845 1846 Charcoal and watercolour heightened with gouache on card 13
Cat. 15 John Sell Cotman 1782 1842 River Landscape, possibly Brignall Banks on the Greta, Yorkshire Early 1806 Watercolour and pencil Cat. 25 Alfred William Hunt 1830 1896 Ullswater at Midday 1863 Watercolour 14
Cat. 16 David Cox 1783 1859 Drovers Crossing a River Valley in Wales c.1840 Watercolour, gouache and pencil Cat. 19 Thomas Shotter Boys 1803 1874 Hôtel de Bellevue and Café d Amitié Seen from the Park, Brussels 1830 Watercolour 15
Cat. 22 William Callow 1812 1908 Pont Royal, Paris 1839 Watercolour over pencil, scratching out with touches of gouache Publication British Watercolours c.1770 1870 from the Collection of BNY Mellon, written by Brian Allen and published by Modern Art Press in association with the Royal Academy of Arts, is available in the RA Shop, priced 14.95. 16
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