A Mill in the Trees

Date made: 1884-1933

Artist: Knox, Archibald

Description: A watercolour by Archibald Knox (1864-1933) of a large mill building with waterwheel, surrounded by trees. Whitewashed farm buildings and mills were a popular (and challenging) topic for Knox as he tried to capture what was essentially a 'white box' and attempted to give it volume and make it 3 dimensional on the paper. The work is made more stark and dramatic by capturing the mill building itself in deep shadow. 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: 41 cm x 55 cm

Materials: watercolour on paper

Photograph and description courtesy of Manx National Heritage via the link at imuseum.im.