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    View of the Wilderness in St James's Park

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    View of the Wilderness in St James's Park
    View of the Wilderness in St James's Park
    View of the Wilderness in St James's Park
    Private Collection, England
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    Artist
    Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
    Title
    View of the Wilderness in St James's Park
    Date
    Undated
    Medium
    Oil on canvas
    Dimensions
    Metric: 43.5 x 53.4 cm
    Imperial: 17 1/8 in. x 21 in.
    Collection
    Private Collection, England
    Wilson Online Reference
    P182A
    Description
    The view is from the island in St James's Park known as The Wilderness, looking out across the sluice towards fashionably attired figures promenading along the Mall in the middle distance. Their richly coloured costumes, in combination with the typically Wilsonesque celestial backlighting, are brought into focus by a lone child in the foreground who kneels to feed a squirrel.
    Provenance
    Possibly Spink & Son, 1951; bt by present owner; Sotheby's 8 December 2011 (283)
    Signature/inscription
    Unsigned; no inscription
    Subject
    Previously thought to be a view of Rosamund's Pond at the south-west end of St James's Park, which was filled in 1770. The location has been identified as The Wilderness, an island in the south eastern corner of the park, designed for the breeding of wildfowl. Mentioned by Alexander Pope in The Rape of the Lock, it was one of the few remaining wild corners of central London.
    Related Drawings
    D372 Woodland Scene, Tate, London
    D373 Study Wilderness in St. James's Park (Stream and Willows), The British Museum (1881, 0212.9)
    Versions
    See 'Links' tab
    Related Works by Other Artists
    Thomas Gainsborough The Mall in St James's Park, Frick Museum, New York
    Critical commentary
    Probably an autograph replica of P182 in the collection of the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven. The handling of light and shade is extremely sensitive but the blocky, unarticulated building behind the trees on the left makes it possible that another hand has contributed to the picture. The artist drawing and the accompanying figure leaning against the tree at the left do not appear in P182. The red costume of the kneeling figure replaces the yellow of his equivalent in P182.
    Bibliography
    WGC, 138c (3)
    More Information
    This poetic landscape is a rare example of an English view by Wilson. Gainsborough painted similar scenes in St James's Park and the ruminative romance of this painting suggests that Wilson was tapping into this expressive and picturesque style in the last decade of his life, a move entirely consistent with changing contemporary tastes.
    Condition/Conservation
    Relined

    Work of Art

    Drawings

    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782), Study for The Wilderness in St James's Park, The British Museum
    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782), Woodland Scene, Tate, London

    Versions

    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782) View of the Wilderness in St. James's Park, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven

    Documents

    • William George Constable, Richard Wilson
    © Richard Wilson OnlineCreditsCopyright & DisclaimerPrivacy