View on the Thames near Twickenham

View on the Thames near Twickenham
View on the Thames near Twickenham
View on the Thames near Twickenham
Photo: Simon Folkes, ACR
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
View on the Thames near Twickenham
Date
c.1762 (undated)
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Metric: 62.7 x 93.2 cm
Imperial: 24 11/16 x 36 11/16 in.
Collection
Private Collection, England
Wilson Online Reference
P89D
Description
The view is taken from the south side of the Thames near Richmond, and shows the prospect upstream to Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, with the pediment of Marble Hill House visible through the trees to the right.
Exhibited
SA 1762 (133 - a version)
Provenance
Anon. sale, Sotheby's 13 July 1949 (92), bt F. Sabin (£48.0.0); [...] Sotheby's 4 July 2001 (68); Private Collection, USA; Leland Little Auctions, Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278, USA., 11 June 2022 (238); Private Collection, England
Signature/inscription
Unsigned
Verso inscriptions
Lower part of left vertical section of frame: indistinguishable handwritten figures
Labels
[1] Upper left corner of stretcher, modern Sotheby's handwritten label: 'LOT 68 4-7-01 BRIT'
[2] Upper right corner of stretcher: round Sotheby's label with handwritten details: Lot No 68 | 4-7-01
Subject
One of the most popular of Wilson's English subjects. The region had come to acquire an elevated cultural status by the third quarter of the 18th century, notably from the presence and publications of Alexander Pope, who made Twickenham his home from 1719 until his death in 1744. As a Palladian villa, Marble Hill House could claim kinship to both the great Palladio and the architectural heritage of ancient Rome.
Related Prints
E72/31 Thomas Hastings after Wilson, On the Thames, The British Museum (1854,0708.88) and other impressions.
Versions
See 'Links' tab
Related Works by Other Artists
Peter Tillemans (c.1684-1734), View of the Thames at Twickenham, c.1720-25, Richmond upon Thames Borough Art Collection, Orleans House, London
Critical commentary
The large number of versions confirms this as one of Wilson's most popular English subjects. Twelve copies dating from the 18th and 19th centuries have also been identified.
Bibliography
WGC p. 188, pl. 57a (version 8?); DHS under 102 and chapter IV.
More Information
Marble Hill House was built for Henrietta Howard, mistress of King George II and was later occupied by Mrs Fitzherbert, mistress and morganatic wife of King George IV.
Condition/Conservation
Some blue overpaint appears in the sky between the two trees to the left. Conserved 2022 by Simon Folkes.
Updated by Compiler
2022-11-15 00:00:00