Clearing with a lumber mill

1847 (?)

Not on view

Middleton belonged to the Norwich School, a loose association of artists with a regional identity led at the outset by John Crome (1768–1821) and John Sell Cotman (1782–1842). A member of the next generation, Middleton painted fine, expressive watercolors before succumbing to consumption at age of twenty-nine. The loose brushwork of "Clearing with a Lumber Mill" is charactertistic of the artist's early work, and the subject suggests a date of 1847. In that year Middleton stayed in London to exhibit at the Royal Academy and British Institution for the first time, then toured Kent with Henry Bright (1810-1873), his teacher and a fellow Norwich artist. At this time he made dated drawings of a lumber yard similar to this one near Tunbridge Wells.

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Title: Clearing with a lumber mill
Artist: John Middleton (British, Norwich 1827–1856 Norwich)
Date: 1847 (?)
Medium: Watercolor over graphite
Dimensions: Sheet: 13 × 19 in. (33 × 48.3 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Gift of Roberta J. M. Olson and Alexander B. V. Johnson, 2014
Object Number: 2014.703.4
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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