The Thames near Hurley
1940
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1940
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
The Thames near Hurley is a 1940 watercolor by Philip Hussey, a Impressionism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This watercolor shows a big tree with sprawling branches over a riverbank. The water is painted in quick, wavy strokes, and the tree’s roots twist into the muddy shore. In the distance, a hillside is dotted with more trees, and a few tiny figures walk along the far bank. The loose, sketchy lines make the scene feel alive, like the artist worked fast. The colors are soft—greens, blues, and earthy browns—with no hard edges. If you like this style, check out the Victoria and Albert Museum for more watercolors.
The work is a watercolour painting signed and dated 1940, depicting a bend in the River Thames near Hurley, shaded by overhanging trees. It was created as part of the Recording Britain project, a wartime initiative funded by the Pilgrim Trust and directed by Sir Kenneth Clark to document the British landscape and national identity during the Second World War. The scheme commissioned artists to record places and scenes across England, excluding Northern Ireland and only partially covering Wales and Scotland. Over 1,500 works were produced by 97 artists, including prominent watercolour…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Philip Hussey (1713–1783), was an Irish portrait-painter. Hussey was born at Cloyne, in the county of Cork and his career began as a sailor. He was shipwrecked three times. He drew the figureheads and stern ornaments of…
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