A Rocky Stream or River
Best known for romantic paintings of animals, Ward was also a prolific draftsman. An apprenticeship to the engraver John Raphael Smith was followed by studies at the Royal Academy Schools, after which the artist made regular sketching tours around Britain to hone his technique (leaving 2,828 drawings in his estate). This richly shaded rendering of a stream resembles a sheet in private hands inscribed “White Well" and dated July 31, 1811. Ward travelled widely that summer, from Brownsea, Dorset to Wychnor, Staffordshire and likely found this subject at Whitewell, near Clitheroe, in Lancashire, a picturesque village on the River Hodder. The initials "JWD RA” were added late in life, as the artist went through and inscribed his drawings.
Artwork Details
- Title: A Rocky Stream or River
- Artist: James Ward (British, London 1769–1859 Chestnut, Hertfordshire)
- Date: ca. 1811
- Medium: Graphite
- Dimensions: Sheet: 9 3/4 x 13 1/2 in. (24.8 x 34.3 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Brooke Russell Astor Bequest, 2013
- Object Number: 2013.105
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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