On the Wharfe, Bolton Abbey
This drawing demonstrates Callow’s mastery of watercolor as a sketching medium. He applied wet pigment onto dampened paper in some portions of the sheet and used a dry-brush technique in others. Earlier in his career the artist had worked in Paris and was influenced by artists in the circle of Richard Parkes Bonington (1802-1828). From them Callow learned how to construct lucid, fluidly painted compositions and developed a taste for luminous color. He returned to England in 1841 and made this sketch during an 1858 trip to Yorkshire. An inscription at lower left dates his visit to September 30th and identifies the subject as the River Wharfe near Bolton Abbey, a stretch of water renowned for its natural beauty.
Artwork Details
- Title: On the Wharfe, Bolton Abbey
- Artist: William Callow (British, Greenwich 1812–1908 Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire)
- Date: September 30, 1858
- Medium: Watercolor
- Dimensions: sheet: 9 15/16 x 14 in. (25.3 x 35.6 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Jeffrey L. Berenson Gift, 2008
- Object Number: 2008.94
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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