Skip to content
Log inRegister
    HomePaintingsDrawingsPrintsBrowse all worksWilson collectionsWilson collections mapTercentenary exhibitionOther exhibitionsProject highlightsThemes and mediaBiographiesBibliographical Resources
    Advanced search
    Work of ArtBiographiesExhibitionsBibliographical Resources
    Settings
    Pages
    300 years
    "The River Dee near Eaton Hall" has these versions
    of 6

    The River Dee near Eaton Hall

    The River Dee near Eaton Hall
    The River Dee near Eaton Hall
    The River Dee near Eaton Hall
    Private Collection, North America
    title=Credit line
    Larger imageShareFeedback
    Artist
    Ascribed to Wilson
    Title
    The River Dee near Eaton Hall
    Date
    Undated
    Medium
    Oil on canvas
    Dimensions
    Metric: 54.6 x 69.9 cm
    Imperial: 21 1/2 x 27 1/2 in.
    Collection
    Private Collection, North America
    Wilson Online Reference
    P86D
    Description
    A river extends from the right foreground to the centre middle distance and is bordered on both sides by trees and bushes. In the foreground are three men in a boat and at a bend in the middle distance there is a cottage. Cows are grazing in a field to the right. Distant hills appear beyond and the sky is yellow with the sunset.
    Provenance
    Acquired by present owner c.1994
    Signature/inscription
    Unsigned, no inscription
    Subject
    The composition appears to be the first depiction of 'public' British scenery, as opposed to private estates, executed after Wilson's return from Italy. Writers from Elizabethan times, including Spenser and Milton, referred to an ancient tradition ascribing divine qualities to the Dee, prophetic for the fortunes of England and Wales, lying either side of it. Eaton Hall was the ancestral seat of Sir Richard, later 1st Earl Grosvenor and in a modern form is currently that of his descendant, the 7th Duke of Westminster. The setting may be partly imaginary, however, particularly in the present case, where the orientation of other versions is reversed.
    Related Drawings
    D354 The Banks of the River Dee near Eaton Hall Cheshire, Art Institute of Chicago, Leonora Hall Gurley Collection
    Related Prints
    E25 Thomas Morris after Wilson, The Banks of the River Dee near Eaton, Cheshire, The British Museum & other impressions
    E71/1 John Young after Wilson, View on the River Dee, near Eaton Hall, The British Museum
    Versions
    See 'Links' tab
    Critical commentary
    The composition is in reverse compared with all the other versions. P86D is also the only version to include figures in a boat, and probably derives from Thomas Morris's print of 1774 (E25 and other impressions), which also shows these figures and is similarly orientated. Different figures in a boat do appear, however, in the related drawing D354.
    Updated by Compiler
    2022-01-18 00:00:00

    Work of Art

    Drawings

    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782), The Banks of the River Dee near Eaton Hall, Cheshire, Art Institute of Chicago, Leonora Hall Gurley Collection

    Prints

    • Thomas Morris after Wilson, The Banks of the River Dee near Eaton, Cheshire, The British Museum
    • Thomas Morris after Wilson, The Banks of the River Dee near Eaton, Cheshire, Royal Academy of Arts, London
    • John Young after Wilson, View on the River Dee, near Eaton Hall, The British Museum

    Versions

    • Imitator of Wilson, The River Dee near Eaton Hall (A View on the River Dee with Anglers), The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth / Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru
    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782) The River Dee near Eaton Hall, Petworth House, National Trust
    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782) The River Dee near Eaton Hall, The Courtauld Gallery, London
    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782) The River Dee near Eaton Hall, Private Collection, Wales
    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782) The River Dee near Eaton Hall, The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham, Birmingham
    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782) The River Dee near Eaton Hall (View of the River Dee, near Eaton Hall, Cheshire), Tyntesfield, National Trust

    Biographies

    • Sir Richard Grosvenor, 1st Earl Grosvenor (1731-1802)
    © Richard Wilson OnlineCreditsCopyright & DisclaimerPrivacy