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Bray Church Yard
John Varley (British, 1778-1842)1807
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
The inscription on the reverse of this drawing, "Bray Church Yard-1807," likely refers to St. Michael’s, the parish church in the village of Bray on the banks of the Thames in the county of Berkshire. The banks of the lower Thames Valley provided the subject matter for many of John Varley’s early watercolors. His pursuit of the picturesque led the artist to turn his back on London and its connotations of commerce and industry, focusing instead on the rural aspects of the scene.
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Details
- Title: Bray Church Yard
- Creator: John Varley (British, 1778-1842)
- Date Created: 1807
- Physical Dimensions: Sheet: 24.9 x 36.9 cm (9 13/16 x 14 1/2 in.)
- Provenance: (sale, Victor G. Fischer Company Collection, Anderson Galleries, New York, February 19, 1912, no. 655), James Parmelee [1855-1931], Washington, DC, by descent to Alice Maury Parmelee, Washington, DC, Alice Maury Parmelee [1862-1940], Washington, DC, bequeathed to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Drawing
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1940.564
- Medium: watercolor and graphite
- Inscriptions: inscribed, in graphite, on verso, at lower left: BrayChurch Yard - 1807
- Fun Fact: Although rare, John Varley's early watercolors are considered his most inspired work.
- Department: Drawings
- Culture: England, 19th century
- Credit Line: Bequest of James Parmelee
- Collection: DR - British
- Accession Number: 1940.564
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