Watercolor and pen and brown ink over graphite, with scraping out on heavy, moderately textured, wove paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 9 1/4 × 14 5/8 inches (23.5 × 37.1 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1977.14.4149
Gallery Label:
Although Charles Bentley occasionally painted landscapes or architectural subjects, he chiefly worked on coastal or marine views. This watercolor of a three-masted naval vessel probably derives from one of his frequent sketching excursions on the Medway or the Solent. Bentley borrows Bonington’s method of rendering skies in sweeping dilute washes as well as the latter’s tendency to scratch out the paper’s surface to suggest the white foam of the waves and the bright white canvas of the jib at the ship’s prow. Gallery label for Great British Watercolors from the Paul Mellon Collection at the Yale Center for British Art (Yale Center for British Art, 2008-06-09 - 2008-08-17)