Richmond
July 9, 1832
Medium
Pen and brown ink, over graphite, on blue wove paper
Dimensions
21.8 × 29 cm (8 5/8 × 11 7/16 in.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
83325
Art Historical Context
Created on July 9, 1832, Clarkson Stanfield’s “Richmond” captures a fleeting moment in the English landscape through the delicate medium of pen and brown ink over graphite on blue wove paper. Stanfield, a leading British marine and landscape painter of the Romantic era, was celebrated for his ability to convey atmosphere and light. Measuring just 21.8 by 29 centimeters, this modest sheet likely records a view near Richmond—possibly in Yorkshire or along the Thames—during one of the artist’s sketching tours. The choice of blue paper was especially favored by nineteenth-century draftsmen for it...