Castle Howard, Yorkshire

Details

Francis Nicholson, O.W.S. (1753-1844)
Castle Howard, Yorkshire
with inscription 'Castle Howard Yorkse. the seat of the Earl of Carlisle' (on the reverse)
pencil, pen and black ink and watercolour, on the artist's original wash-line mount, unframed
151/8 x 205/8 in. (38.5 x 52.4 cm.)

Provenance

The Earls of Carlisle.
The Honourable Godfrey Howard, and by bequest to Maria Howard, wife of Herbert Howard, 1934.
David Charles Herbert Howard.

Engraved

J. Walker, November 1801, for The Copper Plate Magazine, with minor variations.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Sale room notice

It has been suggested that there is some soft ground etching beneath the pen and ink of the drawing. Nicholson rubbed black-lead into the lines of his soft ground etching 'in order to take repeated impressions he could then clothe in colour', see M. Hardie, Watercolour Painting in Britain, London, 1966, p.206.

Lot Essay

A view of Castle Howard was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1789, no. 558 and it would appear that the present watercolour was one of a series of views executed by Nicholson, which vary slightly in the disposition of the figures. Another view of Castle Howard by Nicholson was sold Christie's, London, 24 March 1987, lot 75 (£1,760).

Castle Howard is the seat of the Earls of Carlisle. The present building was begun by Charles, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, from designs by Sir John Vanburgh and work on the house started in 1700. The famous dome, depicted in the present view was not in the original plans, but was finished in 1706. Castle Howard itself was still unfinished on the third Earl's death in 1738 and work was continued under the direction of Sir Thomas Robinson, the fourth Earl's son-in-law.

More from British Art on Paper

View All