The Wrekin, Shropshire

c. 1777/1783

Francis Towne

Associated Names
Francis Towne

Artist, British, 1739 - 1816

The image features a landscape seen from a slightly elevated angle. A mountain stands prominently in the center, with a thin line of trees and small figures visible on the horizon. Smoke or mist rises from the peak of the mountain, blending into the sky. Lush, dense vegetation surrounds the base of the mountain, with soft brushstrokes and a monochromatic grayscale palette used to depict the scene.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gray wash over traces of graphite with pen and brown and gray ink on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Donald Stone

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 27.46 × 37.94 cm (10 13/16 × 14 15/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2022.40.52

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Stephens Online Catalogue, no. FT398

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Bequeathed by the artist to James White of Exeter [1744-1825]; to John Herman Merivale [1779-1844]; by descent to Judith Ann Merivale ]1860-1945], Oxford, by 1915; (sold 1933 to Squire Gallery, London); probably bought by Iolo Williams, London [1890-1962]; (sold by him to Colnaghi, London, 6 July 1943, inv. no. A11906]; sold 7 July 1943 to J. Leslie Wright [1862-1953. Professor John Malins, London [1915-1992], by 1962; by descent until 2018; (Guy Peppiatt Fine Art, London); Donald D. Stone, New York [1942 - 2020], in 2019; bequest to NGA, 2022.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2023

  • Drawing in Britain, 1700 - 1900: New Additions to the Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2023.

Bibliography

n.d.

  • Stephens, Richard. A Catalogue Raisonné of Francis Towne (1739-1816). http://francistowne.ac.uk. No. FT398.

1974

  • Bury, Adrian. Francis Towne: Lone Star of Water-colour Painting. London, 1962: 150

1997

  • Wilcox, Timothy. Francis Towne. London, 1997: 13.

Inscriptions

upper center verso in graphite: 128 [encircled] B.P.; lower left verso in graphite: The Wrekin, in the Road between Wenlock / and Shrewsbury

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