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Knightwick Mill

William Grimmond

1940

watercolor

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Social Realism Early Modern

Dominant colour

Knightwick Mill is a 1940 watercolor by William Grimmond, a Social Realism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: William Grimmond
When & what style?: 1940 · Social Realism
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This painting shows a quiet riverside scene with a small stone bridge and a lone fisherman casting a line. Behind him, a tan-colored mill building sits on a hillside, surrounded by trees and rolling hills. The water moves over rocks, and the sky is soft and pale. The artist paid close attention to how light hits the rocks and water, making everything look calm and natural. The colors are mostly earthy—greens, browns, and blues—with a gentle feel. Next, check out the Victoria and Albert Museum to see more works like this.

The story of this work

Overview

Knightwick Mill is a watercolour painting created by William Grimmond in 1940 as part of the Recording Britain project. The work was commissioned by the Committee for the Employment of Artists in Wartime, funded by the Pilgrim Trust, to document aspects of British life and landscape during the Second World War. The Recording Britain initiative, directed by Sir Kenneth Clark, aimed to preserve images of places and structures perceived as threatened by wartime destruction or modern development. The resulting collection consists of over 1,500 works by 97 artists, including notable…

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Artist

William Grimmond

English watercolourist who painted Worcestershire landscapes in 1940. His brush captured riverside scenes like The Teme at Knightwick and Knightwick Mill, along with half-timbered houses such as Elmley Castle and local…

See the richer artist page