Thomas Girtin

Possibly Dr Thomas Monro (1759-1833),

possibly his executor's sale, London, Christie’s, 1 July 1833, lot 118 as 'York Minster', bt Monro, £11 0s 6d,

Alexander Monro (1802-1844);

sale, London, Sotheby's, 19 March 1958, lot 36; bt 'Spink's', £260,

with Spink & Son, London, 

by whom sold to Philip Cunliffe-Lister, 1^st Earl of Swinton (1884-1972) and Mary Constance, Countess of Swinton (d. 1974), 1959,

thence by descent to the present owners

Possibly, London, Royal Academy, 1797, no. 486, no. 489, no. 499 or no. 726 as 'View of York’;

London, Spink’s & Son, 1959;

London, Lowndes Lodge Gallery, Pictures and Drawings from Yorkshire Houses, 1963, no. 26

G. Smith, Thomas Girtin (1775-1802): An Online Catalogue, Archive and Introduction to the Artist, no. TG1048

In this large-scale and grand watercolour, which was last publicly exhibited in 1959, Thomas Girtin looks north-east, across the river Ouse, past the thirteenth century Lendal Tower, to York Minster, the vast cathedral that is undoubtably one of the most splendid Gothic edifices in the British Isles. While a woman makes her way down to the river, balancing what may be a basket of washing on her head, a man, dressed in a blue coat and tanned britches, sits on a fallen tree, gazing out at the magnificent view before him. It is summer and a golden light shimmers and shifts across the myriad of surfaces that exist in this complex composition; it warms the stones of the ancient buildings, it breathes life into the cool river, and it creates dense textures in the wooded hillside.

Girtin visited York in 1796 as part of his first independent tour as a professional artist, a trip that would see him not only explore parts of Yorkshire and Northumberland but also the Scottish Borders. He was only twenty-one years old but, despite his youth, he was already recognised as one of the most exciting artistic talents of his generation. Of the many places he passed through, York clearly inspired him; of the ten watercolours that he exhibited at the following year’s Royal Academy exhibition, five focused on the ancient city.

Two of Girtin’s watercolours of the Minster from this viewpoint are known today: the present drawing and another, slightly larger, work that was last seen when it was sold by Sotheby’s in 1955.¹ Dr Greg Smith (see Literature) considers both works to date from shortly after Girtin’s 1796 tour and he notes that one, although it is not clear which, was commissioned by Dr Thomas Monro, the important patron and collector whom Girtin (and Turner) had known since at least 1794. Dr Smith cautiously suggests that it was the present work that Girtin exhibited at the 1797 Royal Academy Exhibition.²

With his use of a rich palette, together with his ability to create immense gravitas in complex compositions, it easy to understand why Girtin - despite his desperately short career - is remembered as one of the most brilliant artists of his time. Indeed, Turner, his great friend and exact contemporary, reportedly said ‘if Tom Girtin had lived, I should have starved.’³

^1.Smith, op. cit., online catalogue, no. TG1047

^2.Email to Mark Griffith-Jones, 23 March 2026

^3. W. Thornbury, Turner, London 1877, p. 393