South Gate, Yarmouth

John Sell Cotman (1782-1842)
The South Gate, Yarmouth

Inscribed in another hand on part of the old mount: North Side of South Gate - Yarmouth, taken down in 1812. John Sell Cotman
Watercolour over pencil
18.5 by 22.7 cm., 7 1/4 by 9 in.

Provenance:
With Spink & Son, London, before 1977;
Mr and Mrs Giles Pilcher until 1987;
With Agnew's, London, 1992;
Private Collection until 2004;
With W/S Fine Art (Andrew Wyld), London, where bought 2007;
Private Collection until 2018

Literature:
Agnew's, 119th Annual Exhibition of English Watercolours and Drawings, 1992, no.35;
W/S Fine Art (Andrew Wyld), Landscape on Paper, 2007, no.23, ill.

Exhibited:
Probably Norwich, Norwich School of Artists, 1812, no.63 as South Gate, Yarmouth';
London, Agnew's, 119th Annual Exhibition of English Watercolours and Drawings, 1992, no.35;
London, W/S Fine Art (Andrew Wyld), Landscape on Paper, 2007, no.23

Engraved:
As an etching by Cotman for Specimens of Norman and Gothic Architecture in the County of Norfolk, 1817

This watercolour is based on a drawing in the Norwich Castle Museum, signed and numbered `2363'. . It must date from 1812 or earlier as the medieval gate was destroyed that year. Cotman moved to Yarmouth in 1812 at the instigation of his friend and client Dawson Turner who lived there. He and his family moved to Bank House, Southton, a mile from the centre of Yarmouth and they remained there until 1823 when they returned to Norwich.