- Description
-
- Creator
- Francis Towne (1739 - 1816)
- Title(s)
-
- On the Road over the Moor to Tavistock
- Date
- 1815/08/29
- Medium
- Pencil, pen and grey ink, watercolour
- Dimensions
-
- image height 140mm,
- image width 235mm
- Support
- with stitch marks on the left edge
- Inscription
-
- sheet, verso
- “No2 / near 1 o Clock / on the road over the Moor to Tavistock / August 29th 1815 Francis Towne”
- Part of
-
- 1815 Sketchbook
- Object Type
- Watercolour
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- FT766
- Description Sources
- Sotheby's records; Christie's records (image)
Provenance
Bequeathed by the artist in 1816 to James White of Exeter (1744–1825), on whose death it passed to Towne’s residuary legatee John Herman Merivale (1779–1844) and his successors. Merivale’s granddaughters Maria Sophia Merivale (1853–1928) and Judith Ann Merivale (1860–1945), both of Oxford, inherited the drawing in May 1915 as part of a sketchbook containing FT765 to FT786, which they gave to their cousin Mary Ann Loveband (b.1865, alive in 1951), who sold the book to Agnew’s on 17 May 1938 for £60. On 25 February 1939 Agnew’s (no.2688) sold this drawing to D. L. J. Perkins (b. ca. 1902; see also 635, 782, 784), who sold it back to Agnew’s (no.3750) in February 1944 for £10. On 29 February 1944 Agnew’s sold it to Henry Charles Green (1883/1884–1966; see also 250, 518, 565, 835) for £16, and in May 1945 he sold it back to Agnew’s (no.4133) also for £16, where it was bought on 4 June 1945 by J. Hawkesley Elliott of Sheffield (d. ca. 1978) for £18 18s. Elliott’s daughter sold it at Christie’s on 14 March 1978, lot 94, for £900 to Leger Galleries. It was sold again at Christie’s on 10 July 1984, lot 198, for £1,400, and was offered for sale at Sotheby’s on 19 November 1992, lot 76, when it did not sell. It was sold by Bonham’s on 1 March 2011, lot 196, for £6,600 including fees, presumably to Maurice Dear, who had it for sale for £12,500 in August 2011 (it was still advertised for sale on his website in November 2014). At some point between 1978 and 2011 the watercolour was on sale at the Ruskin Gallery in Stratford-on-Avon, according to Bonham’s in 2011.
- Associated People & Organisations
- Maurice Dear, Southampton, 2011
- Bonham's, London, 1 March 2011, lot 196
- Sotheby's, London, London, 19 November 1992, lot 76
Unsold. - Ruskin Gallery, Aldeburgh
At some point between 1978 and 2011 - Christie's, London, London, 10 July 1984, lot 198
- Leger Galleries, London, 14 March 1978, GBP 900
- Christie's, London, London, 14 March 1978, lot 94
- Joseph Hawksley Elliot (1884 - 1978), Sheffield, 4 June 1945, GBP 18.18s
- Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, May 1945, GBP 16, no.4133
- Henry Charles Green (1883/84 - 1966), 29 February 1944, GBP 16
- Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, February 1944, GBP 10, no.3750
- D. L. J. Perkins (ca. 1902 - ?), 25 February 1939
- Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, 17 May 1938, GBP 60, no.2688
- Mary Ann Loveband (1865 - alive in 1951)
- Judith Ann Merivale (1860 - 1945), Oxford, May 1915
Inherited as part of a sketchbook containing FT765 to FT786. - Maria Sophia Merivale (1853 - 1928), Oxford, May 1915
Inherited as part of a sketchbook containing FT765 to FT786. - John Herman Merivale (1779 - 1844), 1825
- James White (1744 - 1825), Exeter, 1816
Other entries in 1815 Sketchbook
On the Road over the Moor to Tavistock
Maurice Dear
Fort Olda with Part of the Abbey, Tavistock
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Comment
This is a view of Towne’s progress over Dartmoor from Chagford to Tavistock.