Barton
Date made: 1884-1933
Artist: Knox, Archibald
Description: A minimalist but still atmospheric watercolour by Archibald Knox (1864-1933) depicting a coastal scene where the heavy grey skies merge into the grey sea, so that the horizon is indistinguishable. Unlike most of his watercolour sketches which are untitled and unidentified views of the Manx and English landscape, Knox identified this as 'Barton', a coastal location in England where Knox produced various paintings of vessels tied up at the shore. Knox's watercolour sketches can be seen as exercises in capturing the light and a single moment in time. The artist is said to have painted his watercolour scenes in a few hours or less, but that he would also sit for hours waiting for the exact light and cloud formations that he wanted to paint.
Measurements: unframed artwork: 43 cm x 56.5 cm
Materials: watercolour on paper
Photograph and description courtesy of Manx National Heritage via the link at imuseum.im.