Artwork
Burnham Beeches
Burnham Beeches is a watercolor work on paper by the Impressionist artist Thomas Charles Farrer. It dates from 1874 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 2007.37
- Credit line
- Morris K. Jesup Fund, 2007
About this work
Overview
It is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it is housed in the American Wing under the accession number 2007.
Burnham Beeches is a landscape watercolor and gouache on wove paper mounted on cardboard, created by the American artist Thomas Charles Farrer in 1874. Measuring 17.8 by 25.6 centimeters, the work is classified within the landscape genre and focuses on the depiction of trees. It is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it is housed in the American Wing under the accession number 2007.37.
Subject & Meaning
The artwork depicts a quiet, enclosed woodland interior dominated by several large, mature beech trees. Their thick, twisting trunks rise from the lower right and center of the composition, while their branches spread across the upper portion, some bare and others carrying sparse foliage. Slender trees recede into a hazy, indistinct distance. The ground slopes gently upward from left to right, covered in earthy browns with small pale shapes near the bottom edge that suggest mushrooms or stones. Devoid of human or animal figures, the composition emphasizes the solitary, undisturbed character of the natural space.
Technique & Style
Farrer employed watercolor and gouache on wove paper mounted on cardboard to render the forest interior. His brushwork is relatively smooth, utilizing soft blending to produce a misty, atmospheric quality. The palette is restrained, relying on ochres, umbers, dull greens, and grayish blues. Light is diffused throughout the scene, filtering through the canopy without casting strong shadows. The bark of the mature beech trees is rendered with rough, textured detail in browns and muted greens, contrasting with the indistinct, hazy treatment of the receding background trees.
History & Provenance
Created in 1874, the early ownership history of Burnham Beeches remains largely obscure. The only known provenance detail is that the watercolor was purchased in the south of England. The work eventually entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2007, acquired through the Morris K. Jesup Fund. It was assigned the object number 2007.37 upon its accession into the museum's American Wing.
Artist & collection
Artist
Thomas Charles Farrer (16 December 1838 in London – 16 June 1891 in London) was an English-born painter and teacher of painting who also worked in the United States. Among his students was Francis Lathrop.
