The church of Saint Michael looking across the river Waveney, Beccles, Suffolk

Details

John Sell Cotman (1782-1842)
The church of Saint Michael looking across the river Waveney, Beccles, Suffolk
signed and dated 'J.S. Cotman 1818' (lower right) and with inscription 'Town of Beccles from the Bridge/Suffolk/J.S. Cotman' (on the reverse)
pencil and grey brown wash
6½ x 11½ in. (16.5 x 29.2 cm.)

Provenance

Anon. sale, Phillips, London, 18 April 1988, lot 15.
with Agnew's, London.

Literature

G. Bauer, Le Siècle d'Or de l'Aquarelle Anglaise, Anthèse, 1998, p. 94, pl. 115, illustrated in colour.
W. Hauptman, L'Âge d'Or de L'Aquarelle Anglaise 1770-1900, Lausanne, 1999, p. 102, no. 52, illustrated in colour.

Exhibited

London, Agnew's, 116th Annual Exhibition of Watercolours and Drawings, 1989, no. 45, illustrated.
Lausanne, Fondation de l'Hermitage, L'Âge d'Or de l'Aquarelle Anglaise 1770-1900, 22 January - 24 May 1999, no. 52.

Engraved

E. Roberts, for Excursions in the County of Suffolk, August 1818, II, p. 137.

Special notice

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

Lot Essay

In 1818 Cotman received a commission from Longman, the London publisher, to work on a series of guide books Excursions through England. Each county was to be described in twelve monthly parts, each containing eight small engravings. The books were to concentrate on the seats of the nobility and gentry, as these would be the potential subscribers. Cotman was first approached to work on the part illustrating Norfolk and his original drawings for the engravings were executed in pencil and brown wash. He executed seventy drawings in all, fifty of which were still known in 1937 according to Cotman's biographer, Sydney Kitson. He then contributed seven drawings for the next publication Excursions in Suffolk, of which the present drawing is one.

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