Information

Ruskin executed this watercolour on a visit to Dunbar. He stayed in the town for a few days before visiting William Macdonald, a young family friend, in Pertshire. Ruskin wrote of making this study in his diary noting that he had 'had a happy day, drawing by the seashore' (Diary, 21 August, 1847). The artist worked from close observation. His immediate interest was to record, rather than compose a picture. This can be seen in the detailed way he has drawn the rocks, the seaweed and the movement of the water.

  • Presented by an anonymous donor, 1907.
  • © Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery

Makers

Association Artist Organisation
Artist John Ruskin -

Inscriptions

Type Position(s) Method Date(s) Notes
Dunbar - '57. C. saw J. R. do this.
Inscription reverse Handwritten - Inscribed on the back in the artist's handwriting.
 

Exhibitions

Catalogue No. Venue Date(s)
Paintings and Drawings by the Pre-Raphaelites and their Followers
68 Russell-Coates Art Gallery, Bournemouth 1951-06-04 - 1951-08-07
 
Ruskin Watercolours and Drawings
24 Arts Council Touring Exhibition 1954 - 1954
 
Some Pre-Raphaelite Paintings and Drawings
60 National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth 1955-07 - -
60 Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea - - 1955-10
 
The Sea
33 Midlands Federation Travelling Exhibition 1957 - 1957
 
English Drawings and Watercolours
68 National Gallery of Art, Washington 1962-02-18 - 1962-04-01
68 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1962-04-16 - 1962-06-03
 
-
- Fermoy Art Gallery, Kings Lynn 1964-02 - 1964-02
 
Artists of Victorian England
50 Cummer Gallery of Art, Jacksonville 1965-02 - 1965-03
 
Peintures et Aquarelles Anglaises 1700-1900 du Musée de Birmingham
102 Musée de Lyon 1966-10-23 - 1966-11-20
 
La Peinture Romantique Anglaise et les Preraphaelites
243 Petit Palais, Paris 1972-01 - 1972-04
 
British Watercolours and Drawings from Rowlandson to Riley
61 Peking (Beijing), China 1982-03 - -
61 Shenyang, China - - -
61 Hong Kong - - 1982-06
61 The Royal Scottish Academy 1982-08-20 - 1982-09-12
 
John Ruskin: The Last Chapter
- Ruskin Gallery, Sheffield 1989-09-02 - 1989-12-22
 
Like the Face of the Moon
54 South Bank Centre, London 1991-01 - -
54 Bolton Museum and Art Gallery - - -
54 Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent - - -
54 Warwick University - - -
54 Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea - - 1991-07
 
John Ruskin and Victorian Art
125 Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo 1993-02-25 - 1993-03-23
125 Ishibashi Museum of Art, Kurume 1993-04-04 - 1993-05-09
125 Nara Sogo Museum of Art 1993-05-12 - 1993-06-06
125 Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts, Utsunomiya 1993-06-13 - 1993-08-15
 
Ruskin, Turner and the Pre-Raphaelites
137 Tate, London 2000-03-09 - 2000-05-28
 

Literature

Author(s) Date(s) Publisher Pages
Works of Ruskin, XXXVIII, Catalogue of Drawings
Alexander Wedderburn, E T Cook 1912 George Allen, London p.248, no.615
 
Apollo
Fran Evans December 1957 - vol. 66, p. 144, fig. XVII
 
John Ruskin and Victorian Art
1993 Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo p. 296; repr. p. 170
 
Ruskin, Turner and the Pre-Raphaelites
2000 Tate Gallery Publishing, London p. 157, pl. 137

Associated places

Name Type
Dunbar, Scotland Depicted

Related work & resources

Discuss this work

Start a discussion about this work.

You need to login to discuss this work. Click here to login.

If you are not yet registered click here to become a member.
Find out more about membership