David Cox Snr (1783–1859)

Watercolour over pencil, 16.5 x 24 cm (61/2 x 91/2 in), Signed, Circa 1832.

The town is viewed here, at a distance, from the open heathland that remained a feature of the English landscape throughout the 19th century. From this eminence, Cox would have commanded views not only of the town but of Lancaster sands and the whole expanse of Morecombe bay. In the 1830’s Cox’s style was emerging from what one of his biographers (Gordon Roe) calls his trivial phase, when he aimed for neatness and finish after his earlier, broader work. Though this judgement is far from accurate, certainly by 1830 Cox’s works show a gain in strength and tonal awareness. The evening light in this example catches both the wisps of cloud and illuminates the grasses in the foreground, whilst the positioning of the figures leads the eye to the town, bathed in vaporous mist.