id: 119729 accession number: 1940.564 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1940.564 updated: 2022-01-04 15:21:13.481000 Bray Church Yard, 1807. John Varley (British, 1778-1842). Watercolor and graphite; sheet: 24.9 x 36.9 cm (9 13/16 x 14 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of James Parmelee 1940.564 title: Bray Church Yard title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1807 creation date earliest: 1807 creation date latest: 1807 current location: creditline: Bequest of James Parmelee copyright: --- culture: England, 19th century technique: watercolor and graphite department: Drawings collection: DR - British type: Drawing find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * John Varley (British, 1778-1842) - artist --- measurements: Sheet: 24.9 x 36.9 cm (9 13/16 x 14 1/2 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: description: thick, moderately textured beige wove paper watermarks: inscriptions: inscription: inscribed, in graphite, on verso, at lower left: BrayChurch Yard - 1807 translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: The Silver Jubilee Exhibition opening date: 1941-06-23T04:00:00 The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941). title: European Watercolors Through the 18th Century opening date: 1964-01-16T05:00:00 European Watercolors Through the 18th Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 16-March 22, 1964). title: British Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art opening date: 2013-02-10T00:00:00 British Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art . The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 10-May 26, 2013). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE (sale, Victor G. Fischer Company Collection, Anderson Galleries, New York, February 19, 1912, no. 655) date: 1912 footnotes: * Misattributed to J.M.W. Turner in this sale. citations: James Parmelee [1855-1931], Washington, DC, by descent to Alice Maury Parmelee, Washington, DC date: probably 1912-1931 footnotes: citations: Alice Maury Parmelee [1862-1940], Washington, DC, bequeathed to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 1931-1940 footnotes: citations: Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 1940- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: Although rare, John Varley's early watercolors are considered his most inspired work. digital description: 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. wall description: 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 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. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Francis, Henry S. "The Bequest of James Parmelee: Department of Paintings." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 28, no. 2 (1941): 15-31. page number: Mentioned: p. 17 (as J.M.W. Turner) url: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25140904 Lemonedes, Heather. British Drawings: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Exh. Cat. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2013. page number: Mentioned: pp. 58-9 149, no. 18; Reproduced: p. 59 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1940.564/1940.564_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1940.564/1940.564_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1940.564/1940.564_full.tif