Description
This closely observed watercolor was made in Dartmoor—an expanse of moorland in southwest England capped with a series of more than 100 exposed granite hilltops known as "tors," ranging from the monolithic to the nondescript. John White Abbott chose a low vantage point that accentuated the looming immensity of the outcrop in whose shelter a herd of cows has converged. Almost austere in its lack of superfluous detail, this small sheet suggests the untamed quality of the Devon moors.
Provenance
John White Abbott (1763-1851); (sale, Sotheby's, London, November 19, 1981, no. 188) (1981); (Colnaghi & Co., New York, NY) (after 1981-?); Harry and Nina Pollock, Cleveland Heights, OH (?-before 2007); Painting and Drawing Society, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2007); Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2007-)
Accession Number
2005.200
Medium
watercolor with pen and black ink and traces of graphite underdrawing
Dimensions
Image: 16 x 24.7 cm (6 5/16 x 9 3/4 in.); Sheet: 17.9 x 26.9 cm (7 1/16 x 10 9/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
Gift of the Painting and Drawing Society of The Cleveland Museum of Art