- Description
-
- Creator
- Francis Towne (1739 - 1816)
- Title(s)
-
- Vauxhall Stairs from Millbank
- Date
- 1797/07/05
- Medium
- Pencil, pen and brown ink, watercolour
- Dimensions
-
- image width 184mm,
- image length 222mm
- Mount
- mounted by the artist
- Inscription
-
- sheet, recto, lower right
- “F.Towne / delt 1797 / No7”
- in brown ink
- Inscription
-
- artist's mount, verso
- “Vauxhall Stairs taken from Millbank / by / Francis Towne July 5th. 1797 / No.114 / New Bond Street”
- in black ink
- Object Type
- Watercolour
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- FT594
- Description Sources
- Museum records; Christie’s records (image)
Provenance
This drawing was untraced until Walter Treverbian Prideaux (1875–1958) of Ockley, Surrey, sold it at Sotheby’s on 6 June 1951, lot 25, for £42 to Agnew’s (no.6594). On 15 June 1951 Agnew’s sold it for £65 to Sir William Worsley, Bt (1890–1973), whose family sold it at Christie’s on 20 November 1984, lot 76, for £4,800, where it was acquired for Paul Mellon (1907–1999), who gave it to the current owner, the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven (B2001.2.1286).
- Associated People & Organisations
- Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, B2001.2.1286
- Mr Paul Mellon (1907 - 1999), 20 November 1984, GBP 4800
- Christie's, London, London, 20 November 1984, lot 76
- Sir William Worsley (1890 - 1973), 15 June 1951, GBP 65
- Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, 6 June 1951, no.6594
- Sotheby's, London, London, 6 June 1951, GBP 42, lot 25
- Walter Treverbian Prideaux (1875 - 1958), Ockley, Surrey, June 1951
- Bibliography
- Adrian Bury, Francis Towne - Lone Star of Water-Colour Painting, Charles Skilton: London, 1962, pp. 95, 143
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Comment
Vauxhall Stairs, visible to the right of the drawing, was the main entry point by river to Vauxhall Gardens. Towne also drew FT593 on the same day as this.
An early owner of this drawing has noted instructions on the frame: “Shew full ⅛ out side / line & cut open insc in / back to shew title.”