Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Although rare, John Varley's early watercolors are considered his most inspired work.

Description

The inscription on the reverse of this drawing, "Bray Church Yard-1807," likely refers to St. Michael’s, the parish church in the village of Bray on the banks of the Thames in the county of Berkshire. The banks of the lower Thames Valley provided the subject matter for many of John Varley’s early watercolors. His pursuit of the picturesque led the artist to turn his back on London and its connotations of commerce and industry, focusing instead on the rural aspects of the scene.

Inscriptions

Inscription

inscribed, in graphite, on verso, at lower left: BrayChurch Yard - 1807

Provenance

1912

(sale, Victor G. Fischer Company Collection, Anderson Galleries, New York, February 19, 1912, no. 655) ¹

probably 1912-1931

James Parmelee [1855-1931], Washington, DC, by descent to Alice Maury Parmelee, Washington, DC

1931-1940

Alice Maury Parmelee [1862-1940], Washington, DC, bequeathed to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

1940-

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Provenance Footnotes

¹Misattributed to J.M.W. Turner in this sale.

Citations

Francis, Henry S. "The Bequest of James Parmelee: Department of Paintings." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 28, no. 2 (1941): 15-31. Mentioned: p. 17 (as J.M.W. Turner) www.jstor.org

Lemonedes, Heather. British Drawings: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Exh. Cat. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2013. Mentioned: pp. 58-9 149, no. 18; Reproduced: p. 59

Exhibition history

The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).

European Watercolors Through the 18th Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 16-March 22, 1964).

British Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art . The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 10-May 26, 2013).