The Elements of Drawing, John Ruskin’s teaching collection at Oxford

The Elements of Drawing, John Ruskin’s teaching collection at Oxford

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Two Studies of Birds Henry Stacy Marks

  • Curator’s description:

    Description

    This drawing was not catalogued explicitly by Ruskin, although it may have been one of the studies of birds by Marks which he mentioned under No. 168 in his 1878 catalogue of the Educational Series. It was presumably one of the 'eleven studies of birds ("Zoo, 1877") by H.S. Marks, R.A.' listed as being in the Long Cabinet by Cook and Wedderburn (XXI.306). The imprecision of Cook and Wedderburn's description of the cabinet mean that it has been given an arbitrary number within the cabinet for the purposes of the current catalogue.

  • Details

    Artist/maker
    Henry Stacy Marks (1829 - 1898)
    Object type
    drawing
    Material and technique
    graphite, and watercolour over graphite, on wove paper
    Inscription
    Recto, to the right of the upper study, in graphite: Faintest | suspicion of | primrose on | cheek of cock | o.too. Bill grey. | [...] flat at | sides.

    Verso, all in graphite:
    left, towards bottom: Long 16 (right)
    bottom left: C 1
    filling the entire sheet, written upside down: [V]isitors Seaford | [...] 70 | Tempted from my home to range | I'm told the children want a change | To see new scenes - and places strange | And, like a fool lent willing ear | [this line struck out:] I'm told | as shortly will to you appear. | The house for some days was upset | And [...] was ['was' struck through] I [...] must [...] forget - | Try packing up for going away | Oh would in London I could stay - | How blest are those who seldom roam | Contented with the joys of home | And [...] out tranquillity. [sic] | For nearly [...] of Sea - | The wind is quite beyond a joke | Too strong to read too strong to smoke | And as to sitting down to sketch - | Just try it and observe the [...]tch. .
    Provenance

    Presumably presented by John Ruskin to the Ruskin Drawing School (University of Oxford); first recorded in the Ruskin Drawing School in 1906; transferred from the Ruskin Drawing School to the Ashmolean Museum c.1949

    No. of items
    1
    Accession no.
    WA.RS.LC.16.b
  • Subject terms allocated by curators:

    Subjects

  • References in which this object is cited include:

    References

    Ruskin, John, ‘The Ruskin Art Collection at Oxford: Catalogues, Notes and Instructions’, Edward T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn, eds, The Works of John Ruskin: Library Edition, 39 (London: George Allen, 1903-1912), 21, cat. Long Cabinet

Location

    • Western Art Print Room

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