On the North Coast of Devon, Lundy Island in the Distance
ca. 1835
Medium
Watercolor and black chalk over graphite with touches of gouache (bodycolor)
Dimensions
sheet: 10 11/16 x 14 15/16 in. (27.1 x 38 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1970
Accession Number
1970.178
Tags
Art Historical Context
Samuel Palmer's *On the North Coast of, Lundy Island in Distance* (ca. 1835) captures the dramatic beauty of England's rugged shoreline, with the misty outline of Lundy Island shimmering on the horizon amid rolling hills and coastal cliffs. A leading figure in British Romanticism and a member of the visionary "Ancients" circle influenced by William Blake, Palmer his landscapes with a poetic reverence for nature's sublime power. This work reflects his post-Shoreham period interest in direct observation of the British countryside, blending intimate detail with expansive atmosphere. Crafted on a...
About the Artist
Samuel Palmer
Samuel Palmer was born on 27 January 1805 in Newington, London, the son of a bookseller and sometime Baptist minister. He had little formal schooling and almost no conventional artistic training, yet he possessed an instinctive gift for drawing that led him to exhibit Turner-inspired works at the Royal Academy when he was only fourteen years old. In 1824 his mentor, the painter John Linnell, intro...