A marvellous original 1780 work by the well-known architect and watercolourist John Carter FSA (1748-1817), depicting the West Front of Dunstable Priory, a 12th Century Augustinian church in Bedfordshire, England. Carter's recognisable passion and skill for the Gothic style shines through in the fine details and tracery of the facade, contrasted grandly with two small gravediggers to the lower left.
Carter travelled widely around the British Isles, commissioned by the Society of Antiquaries to record ancient and monastic buildings. This is likely to be from that body of work.
Signed and dated 'June 1780' to the lower right, and inscribed 'Dunstable' in graphite to the reverse. Presented with a wash border by the artist.
On watermarked laid.In remarkably fine condition for a picture of this age. There is some very light, even surface discolouration, and very minor surface wear to the edges of the paper. There are four very tiny holes to the lower corners of the page.
33.4 x 26.2cm (13.1" x 10.3")Sheet: 40.1 x 33.5cm (15.8" x 13.2")
John Carter FSA (1748-1817) was an English draughtsman and architect, an early advocate of the revival of Gothic architecture.
In 1774 he was employed to execute drawings of St. Paul's Churchyard for the Builders Magazine, and between 1775 and 1778 he published almost 30 designs for Gothic buildings in the magazine. He insisted that the Gothic was the correct style for ecclesiastical structures.
In 1780, on the recommendation of Michael Lort, Carter was employed by the Society of Antiquaries to do some drawing and etching. He was elected a fellow of the society in March 1795, and then worked as its draughtsman. In 1780 he had drawn for Richard Gough, later a patron, the west front of Croyland Abbey Church and other subjects, in Gough's Sepulchral Monuments and other works. From 1781 Carter also met other patrons and friends, among whom were John Soane, John Milner, Sir Henry Charles Englefield, William Bray, Sir Richard Colt Hoare, the Earl of Exeter, and Horace Walpole.
His work is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the British Museum and the Royal Academy, London, among others.
Dunstable, Dunstable, Central Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom
| SKU | py303 |
|---|---|
| Artist | John Carter FSA (1748-1817) |
| Date | 1780 |
| Dimensions | 33.4 x 26.2cm |
| Medium | Watercolour |
| Style | Realism |
| Subject | Architecture & Cityscapes |
| Item Returns | This item can be returned |
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