Landscape: Harlech Castle

Location

Country: Luxembourg
City: Luxembourg
Place: British Embassy

In the county of Gwynedd, north-west Wales, two men (one on horseback) follow a herd of cattle towards Harlech Castle, seen in the distance. Beyond the castle a rough sea can be made out, above which is an ominous, cloudy sky.

Artist, David Cox the younger, is better known as a painter in watercolours, rather than oil. Indeed the entry on Cox in the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Biography' states: ‘there is no evidence that he experimented with oils’. If the attribution of this work is correct, this is the only known example of his work in the medium. Cox painted several watercolour views showing similar scenes of Harlech Castle.

David Cox the younger was born in Dulwich, south-east London, the son of the more famous David Cox the Elder (1783-1859), one of the most gifted of English landscape painters. As a result, his career was largely pre-destined, although he spent a brief time in the Navy. He accompanied his father on many sketching tours, including visits to Holland and Belgium in 1826. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1827 and assisted his father in his teaching practice until 1841, when he took over the business. Like his father, he drew much of his inspiration from North Wales, although he also painted landscapes of Scotland, the Lake District, the Home Counties and Devon.

Places

Wales, Harlech Castle, Harlech, Gwynedd

Subjects

horseback, landscape C19th, cow, horse, herd, hill, stone/rock, Welsh, 19th century costume, path, castle, wall

Materials & Techniques

canvas, oil, oil painting

Artist

David, the Younger Cox (1809 - 1885)

Title

Landscape: Harlech Castle

Date

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

height: 59.70 cm, width: 85.50 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Agnew's, July 1954

Inscription

None visible

Provenance

With Agnew’s Gallery, London; from whom purchased in July 1954

GAC number

2811