FDA-D.505-2010
Parts
Object number
FDA-D.505-2010
Object type
Identification
Title
A Rocky Landscape with a Waterfall
Pilkington
Pilkington
Title Type
assigned by cataloguer
collection
collection
Comments
Born near London, Towne moved to Exeter around 1765 amd retained a close association with the city for the rest of his working life. He made a tour of Wales in 1777, when many of the subjects he drew were waterfalls; he reprised two of these as oil paintings for his Royal Academy exhibits in 1797 and 1798. The location of this glittering cascade, dated both 1795 and 1796, has not been identified, but it is more likely to be Devon than Wales; most of Towne's new subjects in this decade were to be found in the county, and there was hardly a waterfall of any note which escaped his attention, whether the great White Lady Falls at Lydford (Oppe Collection, Tate), Canonteign or Chudleigh. This particular view bears some resemblance to the Becky Falls high on Dartmoor, although the site is now considerably overgrown with trees.
The work of Francis Towne was not widely acknowledged until collector Paul Oppé, who owned this drawing, began to publish articles on the artist in the 1920s.
This work almost certainly represents Pistyll Cain (Cain falls) in Merionethshire, north Wales, which Towne visited on a sketching tour in 1777. A large (4 1/2 x 5 1/2 feet) view of the falls, now untraced, was exhibited by Towne at the British Institution in London, in 1815. In the same year, Towne showed a further view of Pistyll Cain - perhaps this example - at the Royal Academy.
The work of Francis Towne was not widely acknowledged until collector Paul Oppé, who owned this drawing, began to publish articles on the artist in the 1920s.
This work almost certainly represents Pistyll Cain (Cain falls) in Merionethshire, north Wales, which Towne visited on a sketching tour in 1777. A large (4 1/2 x 5 1/2 feet) view of the falls, now untraced, was exhibited by Towne at the British Institution in London, in 1815. In the same year, Towne showed a further view of Pistyll Cain - perhaps this example - at the Royal Academy.
Other number
Pi 191
Description
Dimensions
height (actual size): 468mm
width (actual size): 352mm
width (actual size): 352mm
Inscription
Signed and dated 'Fr Towne/delt 1795' (lower right), and signed and dated 'Francis Towne/delt 1796' (on reverse of the mount)
Materials & techniques note
Pen & grey ink, and watercolour
Production
Person
Towne, Francis, 1739 - 1816 (Artist)
Date
1795
History and association
Object history note
Provenance: A. Champernowne of Dartington Hall; Sotheby's, 27 April 1911 (Lot 274); from which sale purchased by A.P. Oppe;; collection of D. Eccles;; collection of Alan Pilkington; by whom bequeathed to Eton College in 1973
Exhibited: `Loan exhibition of water-colour drawings by Francis Towne (1740-1816) the property of A.P. Oppe Esq., C. B.', Agnew's, London, 1949, catalogue number 29; Colnaghi, 1958, catalogue number 48; Colnaghi, 1963, catalogue number 33; 'A Genius for Watercolour', Christie’s, London, 6 to 24 January 2003, catalogue number 33; 'Watercolours from the Eton College Collections', Verey Gallery, Eton College, 24 November 2018 to 24 February 2019
Exhibited: `Loan exhibition of water-colour drawings by Francis Towne (1740-1816) the property of A.P. Oppe Esq., C. B.', Agnew's, London, 1949, catalogue number 29; Colnaghi, 1958, catalogue number 48; Colnaghi, 1963, catalogue number 33; 'A Genius for Watercolour', Christie’s, London, 6 to 24 January 2003, catalogue number 33; 'Watercolours from the Eton College Collections', Verey Gallery, Eton College, 24 November 2018 to 24 February 2019
References
• Wilcox, T., A Genius for Watercolour; Watercolours from the Eton College Collection, Christie's exhibition catalogue, London, 2003 (p. 40), Catalogue number: 33
