An ivy covered ruin

late 1780s–early 1790s

Not on view

This watercolor likely represents a ruin in Wales, with the inscription and number 57 connecting it to a series that Towne made when he traveled there in 1777. The style is more consistent, however, with his work of the next decade, so the artist must have returned to or reworked an earlier composition, a characteristic practice. Layered colored washes in the trees resemble those in his "The Cascade in the Groves at Ambleside," 1786 (Private Collection), while the massively buttressed medieval ruin overgrown with greenery demonstrates Towne’s engagement with the picturesque.

Artwork Details

Title: An ivy covered ruin
Artist: Francis Towne (British, Isleworth, Middlesex 1739–1816 Exeter)
Date: late 1780s–early 1790s
Medium: Watercolor with pen and brown ink with traces of graphite
Dimensions: Sheet: 8 1/4 × 10 1/2 in. (20.9 × 26.6 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Gift of Roberta J. M. Olson and Alexander B. V. Johnson, in memory of Laurie Vance Johnson and E. Dudley H. Johnson, 2013
Object Number: 2013.1121.1
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Trees by the lake, Peamore Park, near Exeter, Devon, Francis Towne British, Watercolor over traces of graphite; laid down on original mount — Trees by the lake, Peamore Park, near Exeter, Devon
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