William Blake
1757-1827
Sketch for The Sea of Time and Space
1821
15 5/16 x 18 1/4 inches (388 x 465 mm)
Pencil on paper.
III, 45f
Gift of J.P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Notes
Verso: A second sketch for the same composition.
Blake's broadly executed graphite study is preparatory for a painting executed in tempera on gessoed cardstock, signed "W Blake inventor 1821". The picture resurfaced in 1949 at Arlington Court, Barnstaple, Devonshire, the residence of Rosalie Chichester (1865-1949). According to the National Trust, to whom she left the house and its contents, "at some point it was lost but was later rediscovered in a pile of 'junk ... in a dusty heap on top of a wardrobe in the housemaid's pantry'." It is thought that her father, Sir John Palmer Bruce Chichester, 1st Baronet, Arlington (ca. 1794-1851), purchased the painting directly from Blake.
Blake's broadly executed graphite study is preparatory for a painting executed in tempera on gessoed cardstock, signed "W Blake inventor 1821". The picture resurfaced in 1949 at Arlington Court, Barnstaple, Devonshire, the residence of Rosalie Chichester (1865-1949). According to the National Trust, to whom she left the house and its contents, "at some point it was lost but was later rediscovered in a pile of 'junk ... in a dusty heap on top of a wardrobe in the housemaid's pantry'." It is thought that her father, Sir John Palmer Bruce Chichester, 1st Baronet, Arlington (ca. 1794-1851), purchased the painting directly from Blake.
Inscriptions/Markings
Inscribed on verso, in a later hand, "The River of oblivion", "By Wm Blake...", and "By Blake".
Associated names
Flaxman, John, 1755-1826, former owner.
Denman, Maria, 1776-1861, former owner.
Morgan, J. P. (John Pierpont), 1867-1943, former owner.
Denman, Maria, 1776-1861, former owner.
Morgan, J. P. (John Pierpont), 1867-1943, former owner.
Artist
Classification
Century Drawings
School
Catalog link
Department