Study for 'The Antiquary's Cell'
Edward William RA FRS FSA Cooke
1835
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Edward William RA FRS FSA Cooke
1835
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
This watercolor by Edward William Cooke was a warm-up for a bigger painting called *The Antiquary’s Cell*. Cooke made this study in 1835—150 years before color TV—so every object had to feel real without the help of cheap tricks. He visited London antique shops to pick out old furniture and weird plants and bones. John Sheepshanks, who owned the room, later bought eleven Cooke paintings and several of these practice sheets. See Cooke’s finished painting next door at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
