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British WatercoloursFrom the Collection of BNY Mellon

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Tennant Gallery

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Tennant Gallery

British WatercoloursFrom the Collection of BNY Mellon

25 September – 16 December 2018

ContentsPage 2Introduction

Page 4List of works

First Floor, Main Galleries and Fine Rooms

GalleryFour

GalleryThree

Main Galleries

WestonRooms

CentralHall

GalleryTen

GalleryElevenShop

FineRooms Lift

Vestibule

GalleryNine

GalleryFive

Gallery Six

GallerySeven

GalleryEight

Lift

Way In and OutShowcase

ReferenceCatalogue

Seating

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British Watercolours from the Collection of BNY Mellon The period between c.1770 and c.1870 can be described as a “Golden Age” for watercolour painting in Britain.

Because the materials required for making watercolours were easily transportable the medium became extremely popular with British artists and travellers, who began to explore the further reaches of the British Isles as well as Continental Europe during these years.

The Royal Academy had an ambivalent attitude towards watercolour painting in its early days (it was considered an inferior genre to oil painting). However, many remarkable examples were exhibited at the Academy’s annual exhibitions.

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This exhibition includes fine watercolours by artists such as Paul Sandby, Thomas Jones, John Robert Cozens, Francis Towne, JMW Turner, John Sell Cotman, David Cox, Peter de Wint and John Frederick Lewis.

They explored the possibilities of this delicate medium and took it to new heights. Much of their output consisted of topographical landscape painting and their works provide a fascinating record of the scenery and buildings of the period.

The BNY Mellon collection was formed during the 1980s and 1990s, before the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Financial Corporation in 2007 with a view to creating a visual reminder of the legacy of the Mellon family, and especially Paul Mellon, one of the twentieth-century’s greatest collectors.

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List of works (clockwise in order of hang)Numbers shown are from the exhibition Catalogue,

available for reference in the centre of the Gallery and

on sale in the RA Shop.

Cat. 11Joseph Mallord William Turner RA1775–1851Barnard Castle?Mid-1820sWatercolour and pencil

Cat. 12John Constable RA1776–1837Hampstead1833Watercolour over traces of pencil

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Cat. 2Thomas Gainsborough RA1727–1788Landscape with Herdsmen and CattleMid-1770sBlack and white chalk and stump on grey paper

Cat. 13John Constable RA1776–1837Abingdon Abbey, Berkshire1821Pencil and grey wash

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Cat. 17Peter De Wint1784–1849Nottingham Castle from the Trentc.1847–1848Watercolour

Showcase

Cat. 21John Frederick Lewis RA1805–1876Study of a Bedouin Arab with a Jambiya1840sPencil, black chalk and watercolour, heightened with

gouache

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Cat. 18Sir David Wilkie RA1785–1841King William IV?1833Pen and brown ink

On the wall

Cat. 23Richard Dadd1817–1886The Passions: Drunkenness1854Watercolour on brown paper

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Cat. 3Francis Towne1739–1816Looking from Ambleside across Lake Windermere1786Pencil, pen and brown ink, watercolour with gum

Cat. 5Michael ‘Angelo’ Rooker ARA1743–1801Westminster Hall, LondonEarly 1770sWatercolour over pencil

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Cat. 7John ‘Warwick’ Smith1749–1831The Riviera di Chiaia and the Villa Reale, Naples1785Watercolour over pencil

Cat. 6Francis Wheatley RA1747–1801The Salmon Leap at Leixlip on the Liffey1783Watercolour

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Cat. 1Paul Sandby RA1725–1809Bayswater Turnpike, London, Seen from the Westc.1790Gouache

Cat. 8John Robert Cozens1752–1797Lake Nemi?1779Watercolour over pencil

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Cat. 4Thomas Jones1742–1803A View from the Capuchin Convent at Albano Looking over Castel Gandolfo towards Rome ?1777Watercolour over pencil

Cat. 24John Ruskin1819–1900San Giorgio Maggiore, the Basin of St Mark’s and a Balcony of Casa Contarini-Fasan1876Watercolour over pencil, heightened with gouache with

touches of pen and ink

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Cat. 9William Daniell RA1769–1837Glen in Windsor Great Park, near Bishopsgate1827Watercolour over pencil with scratching out

Cat. 14Cornelius Varley1781–1873Nottingham Castle from the Trentc.1828Watercolour with touches of gouache

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Cat. 10François Louis Thomas Francia(1772–1839)French Infantry Halted on the March in front of a Farmhouse1827Watercolour with pen and red-brown ink with touches of

gouache

Cat. 20Samuel Palmer(1805–1881)A Farm near Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshirec.1845–1846Charcoal and watercolour heightened with gouache

on card

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Cat. 15John Sell Cotman1782–1842River Landscape, possibly Brignall Banks on the Greta, YorkshireEarly 1806Watercolour and pencil

Cat. 25Alfred William Hunt1830–1896Ullswater at Midday1863Watercolour

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Cat. 16David Cox1783–1859Drovers Crossing a River Valley in Walesc.1840Watercolour, gouache and pencil

Cat. 19Thomas Shotter Boys1803–1874Hôtel de Bellevue and Café d’Amitié Seen from the Park, Brussels1830Watercolour

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Cat. 22William Callow1812–1908Pont Royal, Paris1839Watercolour over pencil, scratching out with touches of

gouache

Publication

‘British Watercolours c.1770–1870 from the Collection

of BNY Mellon’, written by Brian Allen and published by

Modern Art Press in association with the Royal Academy

of Arts, is available in the RA Shop, priced £14.95.

Your feedback, pleaseAs we are committed to access for all, we would like your feedback on our large-print provision. Feedback forms are available from the Information Desk on the ground floor.

We also offer one-to-one audio descriptive tours of the exhibitions with trained volunteer audio describers.

Wheelchair users can also benefit from our volunteers, who can assist with taking you around the galleries so you can enjoy our exhibitions at your leisure. With prior notice we can arrange these at a time that fits in with your schedule. Contact me for further information.

Thank you.

Molly Bretton, Access & Communities Manager

Design & typography by WfS Create: mail@wfscreate.com© Copyright Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2018.

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