The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 22, 2026

A horizontally oriented pen and ink drawing on two conjoined sheets of beige paper depicts a large manor house centered in the background. A wide path leads from the bottom center, flanked by rows of small, rounded trees. Tall, spindly trees with dense foliage surround the building and line the horizon. The scene is rendered with fine line work and muted brown washes, using delicate, precise hatching for shading.

The Manor House, Cresswells

c. 1665

Hendrick Danckerts

(Dutch, 1625–1680)
Netherlands
Pen, ink, wash with watercolor on two conjoined pieces of paper
Sheet: 27.9 x 88.9 cm (11 x 35 in.)
Severance and Greta Millikin Trust 2024.60
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The timber-framed house depicted here was built in the fifteenth century and demolished in the eighteenth century.

Description

The Anglo-Dutch painter, Hendrick Danckert, made this panoramic view of the manor house at Cresswells, Bray, in Berkshire, England around 1670. The drawing was preparatory for a painting of the house, presumably commissioned by its owner, Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort. The genre of topographical painting that flourished in England beginning in the 17th century accompanied the building boom after the Restoration (1660), which was funded in large part by the American colonies. Many Dutch artists, trained in landscape painting in their native country, emigrated to England to meet the demand. Danckerts was among the first to incorporate watercolor into his drawings, a genre that would flourish in England in the following centuries.
  • Sir Bruce Ingram, Kt., O.B.E., M.C., F.S.A. (1877-1963), Lugt 1405a
    October 21, 1964
    Ingram sale, Sotheby’s, 21st October 1964, lot 22
    1964–78
    W A Brandt (1902-1978), acquired from the above
    1978–2023
    by descent to 2023
    2023–24
    (Lowell Libson & Johnny Yarker, Ltd., British Art, London, United Kingdom), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    June 3, 2024–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=The Manor House, Cresswells|url=false|author=Hendrick Danckerts|year=c. 1665|access-date=22 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2024.60