Leigh Tor Rocks at Poundsgate, near New Bridge on the Dart, Devon

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-)

Leigh Tor Rocks at Poundsgate, near New Bridge on the Dart, Devon

John White Abbott

1800

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

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Gift of the Painting and Drawing Society of The Cleveland Museum of Art