THE THAMES AND GLOVER'S ISLAND FROM RICHMOND HILL, 1985
signed David Gentleman lower right
watercolour, charcoal and pencil on paper
36 x 50.5cm (54.5 x 69cm framed)

Provenance
Mercury Gallery, London
Purchased from the above by Michael Thorncroft on 24th April 1985

David Gentleman's watercolours of the Thames from Richmond Hill belong to a rich and distinguished history. The prospect westward over Glover's Island towards Petersham and Ham has been painted by Wootton, Reynolds and Turner. It in fact remains the only view in England protected by its own Act of Parliament, secured in 1902. Gentleman's response is characteristically unshowy — a fluent, economical watercolour in which the great serpentine bend of the river is described with clarity, and the meadows below left generously empty.

At the border of the metropolis, Richmond offers a refuge which the artist is particularly attracted to: ‘This is a lovely place to walk and draw: an undulating prairie with fine oaks scattered or in clumps of thick woodland. In the magnificent views, London seems much further away than it does on the Heath. […] I like the way the woods spread over the uneven curves and hummocks of the landscape, losing their individuality as they become a single meandering whole.’

Born in London, David Gentleman studied at the Royal College of Art under Edward Bawden and John Nash. As artist, illustrator, designer and author, Gentleman’s work is part of the collections at the Tate Britain, British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Design Museum and the Fitzwilliam Museum.

Gentleman’s work which most visitors to London will be familiar with is his spectacular Charing Cross mural, documenting the construction of the Eleanor Cross.