1940
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Knowle is a 1940 watercolor by Anna Lea Merritt, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a quiet street scene with old buildings and a big tree in the foreground. The tree is dark green, almost blocking the view of the buildings behind it. The buildings look like they’re made of stone, with one having a tall tower and a clock. A person is walking near the tree, and the whole scene feels soft and a little hazy. The artist used watercolor, which keeps the colors light and slightly blurred. The buildings have a mix of browns and grays, while the sky is pale and almost empty. The person walking adds a small touch of life to the scene. Next, check out the Victoria and Albert Museum to see more works like this.
This 1940 watercolour by Merritt depicts a view from outside the outer wall of Knole, a large mansion in Sevenoaks, looking toward a central turret with rooftops and chimneys in between. Mature trees frame the scene on the left side. The work was part of the "Recording Britain" project, a wartime initiative that employed artists to document British landscapes and buildings threatened by war or modernization. Funded by the Pilgrim Trust and directed by Sir Kenneth Clark, the scheme aimed to preserve a visual record of places and traditions seen as part of a vanishing national identity.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Anna Massey Lea Merritt (September 13, 1844 – April 7, 1930) was an American artist from Philadelphia who lived and worked in Great Britain for most of her life.
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
