A distant view of a castle, possibly Penrhyn Castle near Bangor, North Wales

Details

David Cox, Sen., O.W.S. (1783-1859)
A distant view of a castle, possibly Penrhyn Castle near Bangor, North Wales
pencil and watercolour, on oatmeal paper
6 1/8 x 9 in. (15.2 x 22.8 cm.); a study of the same castle in pencil (on the reverse)

Provenance

with Spink-Leger, London.

Literature

G. Bauer, David Cox: 1783-1859, Précurseur des Impressionistes?, Anthèse, 2000, p. 110, illustrated in colour.

Exhibited

London, Spink-Leger, 'Air and distance, storm and sunshine' Paintings watercolours and drawings by David Cox, March 1999, no. 25, illustrated in colour.

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium

Sale room notice

We are grateful to Prof. John Kenyon for suggesting that the castle depicted may be Bolton Castle, Yorkshire, with the Yorkshire moors in the background.

Lot Essay

T. Roscoe, Wanderings in North Wales, 1853, p. 126 writes that the castle occupies 'the summit of an insulated hill, which on one side sweeps down to the coast...On the other it gently descends to the base of the gigantic hills that compose the Carnarvonshire [sic] range'. The neo-Norman castle was started in 1827 taking ten years to complete. A watercolour sold at Sotheby's, London, 11 July 1990, lot 8 helps support the identification of this view. The turrets of the castle are slightly taller than those depicted here but the lie of the land and the general structure of the castle are very close.
This view similarly looks southwest, showing the castle silhouetted against the distant Isle of Anglesey.

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