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    300 years
    Return to "London, Cardiff and New Haven 1982-83" is linked to these Works 146 items
    of 146

    The Great Bridge over the Taaffe in South Wales

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    The Great Bridge over the Taaffe in South Wales
    The Great Bridge over the Taaffe in South Wales
    The Great Bridge over the Taaffe in South Wales
    The Trustees of the British Museum
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    Artist
    Pierre Charles Canot (c.1710-1777) after Wilson
    Title
    The Great Bridge over the Taaffe in South Wales
    Date
    1775
    Medium
    Etching and engraving
    Dimensions
    Metric: 411 x 545 mm
    Imperial: 16 3/16 x 21 1/2 in.
    Collection
    The British Museum. To license image, click here
    Accession Number
    1872,0511.393
    Wilson Online Reference
    E28B
    Description
    A steep single-arched bridge spans a river which divides around a low island in the foreground. From there several figures turn to admire the view of rolling tree-covered hills beneath a large expanse of sky.
    Exhibited
    SA 1766 (234 - an impression); London, Cardiff and New Haven, 1982-83 (121); Conwy 2009 (30 - an impression)
    Provenance
    1872 purchased from George Love, 81 Bunhill Row, Finsbury, London as part of a group of 428 prints
    Signature/inscription
    Lettered below the image with the title in English and French and 'Richard Wilson Pinxt,, / P.C. Canot Sculpt'
    Subject
    William Edwards's bridge over the River Taff or Teify at Pontypridd was completed after four attempts in 1756 and measured 140 feet (43 metres) in span. It quickly became renowned and for over 40 years it was the largest single span bridge in Britain.
    Versions
    See 'Links' tab
    Other impressions are at The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth / Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru (PG00881, 004609364 and 4488829) and the Royal Pavilion, Brighton
    Related Works by Other Artists
    John Clerk of Eldin, Pont Y Pridd, etching and drypoint (5 states, 1776)
    Critical commentary
    This print is one of the set, Six Views in North and South Wales, all after Wilson, published by John Boydell in 1775.
    Bibliography
    R. Gough, Anecdotes of British Topography, London 1768, p. 593; Edwards 1808, p. 88; Inventaire du Fonds Français: Bibliothèque Nationale, Département des Estampes, Graveurs du XVIIe siècle, vol. 3, Paris 1930, no. 95; WGC p. 187, pl. 56b; Solkin 1982, pp. 228-29
    More Information
    An impression belonged to William Lock of Norbury and featured in his sale, Sotheby's London 3-7 May 1821 (619).
    Condition/Conservation
    State before publication line
    Updated by Compiler
    2017-06-22 00:00:00

    Work of Art

    Versions

    • Pierre Charles Canot (c.1710-1777)after Wilson, The Great Bridge over the Taafe, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven
    • Pierre Charles Canot (c.1710-1777)after Wilson, The Great Bridge over the Taaffe in South Wales, The British Museum
    • Pierre Charles Canot (c.1710-1777)after Wilson, The Great Bridge over the Taafe, National Museum Wales, Cardiff

    Exhibitions

    • London, Tate Gallery, Cardiff, National Museum of Wales, and New Haven, Conn., Yale Center for British Art, 3 November 1982 - 19 June 1983
    • Conwy, Royal Cambrian Academy, 24 October - 23 December 2009

    Biographies

    • Pierre-Charles Canot (c.1710-1777)

    Documents

    • David Solkin, Richard Wilson: The Landscape of Reaction
    • Edward Edwards, Anecdotes of Painters who have resided or been born in England; with critical Remarks on their Productions
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