- Description
-
- Creator
- Francis Towne (1739 - 1816)
- Title(s)
-
- In St John’s in the Vale
- The Vale of St. John, in Cumberland
- The Vale of St John
- Date
- 1786/08/17
- Medium
- Pencil, pen and grey and brown inks, watercolour
- Dimensions
-
- image width 156mm,
- image length 235mm
- Inscription
-
- sheet, recto, lower left
- “No34 / F.Towne delt 1786”
- the inscription in brown wash with a brush, over an earlier brown ink inscription (but Towne has not gone over the “N” of “No” or the “T” of “Towne”)
- Inscription
-
- sheet, verso
- “light from the right hand 3 o Clock” in pencil and “No34 / In the Vale of St John August the 17th 1786 light from the right hand 3 O Clock. / F.Towne.” in ink
- Object Type
- Watercolour
-
- Collection
-
- (69.154.1)
- Catalogue Number
- FT490
- Description Sources
- Museum records; 1997 Tate catalogue (image); Examination
Provenance
Bequeathed by the artist in 1816 to James White of Exeter (1744–1825), on whose death it passed to Towne’s residuary legatee John Herman Merivale (1779–1844) and his successors. Merivale’s granddaughters Maria Sophia Merivale (1853–1928) and Judith Ann Merivale (1860–1945) inherited the drawing in May 1915 (BP149). In August 1933 Judith Merivale sold it for £10 to Miss Emily Norrie (perhaps 1891–1973) of Pequot Avenue, New London, Connecticut. It was sold by “a gentleman” at Sotheby’s on 10 December 1958, lot 78, for £260 jointly to the Fine Art Society and Agnew’s (Agnew’s no.J9587, Fine Art Society no.6713), and Agnew’s sold it on 19 January 1959 to a private collector. In 1969 it was given anonymously to the current owner, Rhode Island School of Design (69.154.1).
- Associated People & Organisations
- Rhode Island Museum of Art, School of Design, Providence, 1969, 69.154.1
- Private Collection, 19 January 1959
- Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, 10 December 1958, GBP 260, no.J9587
Acquired jointly with the Fine Art Society (no.6713). Agnew's sold it on 19 January 1959 to a private collector. - The Fine Art Society, London, London, 10 December 1958, GBP 260, no.6713
Acquired jointly with Agnew's (no.J9587) - Sotheby's, London, London, 10 December 1958, lot 78
- Emily Norrie (1891 - 1973), New London, Connecticut, August 1933, GBP 10
- Judith Ann Merivale (1860 - 1945), Oxford, May 1915, BP149
- Maria Sophia Merivale (1853 - 1928), Oxford, May 1915, BP149
- John Herman Merivale (1779 - 1844), 1825
- James White (1744 - 1825), Exeter, 1816
- Exhibition History
- [?] Exhibition of Original Drawings at the Gallery, No.20 Lower Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, 20 Lower Brook Street, 1805, no. 63, 64, or 65 as 'The Vale of St. John, in Cumberland', or 88 as 'The Vale of St John'
- 86th Annual Exhibition of Water-Colour Drawings, Thomas Agnew & Sons, 1959, no. 42
- Selection II, British Watercolours and Drawings, Rhode Island School of Design, 1972, no. 14
- Francis Towne, Tate Gallery; Leeds City Art Gallery, 24 June 1997 - 4 January 1998, no. 53
Other entries in Lake District, 1786
Francis Towne
A View at Ambleside, near Sir Michael Fleming’s on the Road to Keswick
A View at Ambleside, near Sir Michael Fleming’s on the Road to Keswick
Francis Towne
A View taken at Ambleside at the Head of Lake Windermere
A View taken at Ambleside at the Head of Lake Windermere
Francis Towne
Looking from Ambleside across Lake Windermere
Looking from Ambleside across Lake Windermere
Francis Towne
A View near the Turnpike on the Way from Low Wood to Ambleside
A View near the Turnpike on the Way from Low Wood to Ambleside
Francis Towne
Looking to the Mountains over the Head of Buttermere
Looking to the Mountains over the Head of Buttermere
Francis Towne
A View at Low Wood, looking across the Head of Lake Windermere
A View at Low Wood, looking across the Head of Lake Windermere
Francis Towne
Raven Crag and Part of Thirlmere
Raven Crag and Part of Thirlmere
Fitzwilliam Fitzwilliam Museum
Francis Towne
St John’s in the Vale, looking towards Grasmere
St John’s in the Vale, looking towards Grasmere
Francis Towne
St John’s in the Vale looking towards Keswick
St John’s in the Vale looking towards Keswick
Francis Towne
A View in St John’s in the Vale looking towards Keswick
A View in St John’s in the Vale looking towards Keswick
Francis Towne
On the Side of Lake Windermere, near the Turnpike
On the Side of Lake Windermere, near the Turnpike
Francis Towne
A View of Derwent Water looking towards Lodore Falls
A View of Derwent Water looking towards Lodore Falls
Francis Towne
A View from the Cascade in the Groves at Ambleside
A View from the Cascade in the Groves at Ambleside
Francis Towne
At Ambleside coming from the Cascade in the Groves
At Ambleside coming from the Cascade in the Groves
Francis Towne
A View of Rydal Water looking towards Rydal Hall
A View of Rydal Water looking towards Rydal Hall
Francis Towne
Elter Force, near Ambleside
Elter Force, near Ambleside
National Gallery National Gallery of Victoria
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Comment
This drawing shows Fisher Place, from the road north to Keswick towards the northern end of Thirlmere. The stream running down the mountainside is Fisher Gill, and Helvellyn is the sharp peak in the top-right corner.
There are remnants of stitch marks along the right edge, and the washes do not reach up to the right edge of the sheet. Although this drawing is not mounted, the attention to detail in the foreground rocks at the bottom edge of the sheet is typical of the finishing that, late in life, Towne gave to works that had been sketched years earlier. The pen line in the foreground is grey, whereas in most of the drawing Towne used a brown ink, and the shadow cast over the lower reaches of the mountain behind the trees in the right-hand portion of the sketch looks like it has been gone over and made significantly darker. The double inscription on the recto is also suggestive of Towne having worked on the drawing at two different periods.