Melbourne, Australia.- The National Gallery of Victoria is proud to present “British Watercolours 1760–1900: The Age of Splendour”, an outstanding exhibition showcasing works by Britain’s most celebrated eighteenth century artists including J.M.W. Turner, Thomas Girtin and William Blake. The NGV is also delighted to announce that on display for the first time will be the most recent acquisition to the Prints & Drawings Collection, “The Stepping Stones on the Wharfe, above Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire” (1801) by celebrated artist, Thomas Girtin. A masterpiece of the artist’s late Romantic style this work is an acquisition highlight of the NGV’s 150th anniversary year. “British Watercolours” will be on view at the museum from October 14th through February 19th 2012.
From the late eighteenth century, watercolour became pivotal to the changing approaches to the depiction of landscape and evolved from the topographical draughtsman’s precise recording of the observed world to the expression of the artist’s personal response to nature. This shift in emphasis transformed the medium into a powerful and expressive art form used by some of the Romantic and Victorian era’s greatest artists. The NGV’s magnificent collection of British watercolours was acquired predominantly throughout the twentieth century, principally through the Felton Bequest, however a number of contemporary watercolours were acquired from Great Britain for the NGV collection before 1900. The establishment of professional societies for the promotion of watercolours from the early nineteenth century contributed to the development of the ‘exhibition watercolour’ which competed with oil paintings in terms of size, brilliance of colour and effect, and range of subject matter.
The complexity of technique and density of colour emulated the look and dramatic power of oil paintings. Artists Turner and Girtin were leading practitioners in the medium, both introducing new technical qualities which influenced a generation of painters. The NGV is fortunate to represent the towering achievement of Turner in the watercolour medium with three works including the masterpiece Red Rigi (1842), a highlight of the exhibition. British Watercolours 1760–1900 traces all of these developments and begins with a group of late eighteenth century watercolours by both amateurs and major artists. Also on display will be a selection of ‘exhibition watercolours’ from the latter part of the nineteenth century, including a work by Edward Robert Hughes who was associated with the Pre-Raphaelites. British Watercolours 1760–1900 will showcase over 70 works by artists including Paul Sandby, John Robert Cozens, J.M.W. Turner, Thomas Girtin, John Sell Cotman, David Cox, Peter de Wint, William Blake, Richard Parkes Bonington, Samuel Palmer, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Ford Madox Brown and Edward Burne-Jones amongst others.
The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. The main gallery is located in St Kilda Road, in the heart of the Melbourne Arts Precinct of Southbank, with a branch gallery at Federation Square. The St Kilda Road Gallery, designed by Sir Roy Grounds, opened in 1968 and was refubished and extended by Mario Bellini in 2003. In December 2003, the Ian Potter Centre at the NGV Australia at Federation Square, designed by LAB Architecture Studio opened to host the NGV’s collection of Australian art. At the time that the gallery opened, Victoria was an independent colony for just ten years, but in the wake of the Victorian gold rush, it was easily the richest part of Australia, and Melbourne the largest city. Generous gifts from wealthy citizens, notably industrialist Alfred Felton, made it possible for the National Gallery to start purchasing large collections of overseas works from both old and modern masters. It currently holds over 65,000 works of art. Visit the museum’s website at … http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au