Knaresborough Castle, Yorkshire

Details

JOHN VARLEY, O.W.S. (LONDON 1778-1842)
Knaresborough Castle, Yorkshire
signed and dated 'J. VARLEY 1804' (on a rock, lower right) and further signed, inscribed and dated 'View of Knaresborough Castle Yorkshire/ J. Varley 1803' (on an old label attached to the mount)
pencil and watercolor heightened with gum arabic and with scratching out, on oatmeal paper
15 7/8 x 25 in. (40.3 x 63.5 cm.)

Provenance

with Martyn Gregory, London.

Exhibited

London, Old Water Colour Society, 1805, no. 96.
London, Tate Britain, Thomas Girtin: The Art of Watercolour, 4 July-29 September 2002, no. 183.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Giada Damen, Ph.D. AVP, Specialist, Head of Sale

gdamen@christies.com +1 212 641 7532

Lot Essay

John Varley was strongly influenced by Thomas Girtin (1775-1802), and copied a number of his finished watercolors, which particularly informed his work of around 1803-4 in Wales. While the present drawing is based on a sketch make in 1803 on a trip to Yorkshire, it displays the influence of Girtin's Welsh views in its use of broad flat washes.

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