The Sheep-Wash by Robert Taylor Pritchett (1828–1907). 1868. Pen-and-ink. Shown at the "Drawing Esher" exhibition of R. T. Pritchett's pen-and-ink drawings, held at the Civic Offices in Esher, Surrey, 31 January - 21 September 2023.
As the exhibition label explains, sheep-washes "were designed to direct flocks through a fenced section of running water," in order to cleanse their fleece before shearing. Pritchett's drawings in Esher, where he was living at this time, show his delight in such picturesque corners, and represent another side of his talent, in the faithful and knowledgable depiction of natural scenes. This is a timeless craft but it also chimes well with the contemporary interest in "making pictorial idylls out of the unpromising materials of lowly life in town and country" ("The Society of Painters in Water-Colours," 4).
Photograph, text and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee; photograph reproduced here by kind permission of Elmbridge Museum and the Civic Offices, Esher.
Bibliography
Millar, Delia. "Pritchett, Robert Taylor (1828–1907), gun maker and landscape painter." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Online ed. 7 September 2023.
"The Society of Painters in Water-Colours." The Times (5 May 1871): 4.
Wright, Anne. "Drawing Esher. Elmbridge Museum. https://elmbridgemuseum.org.uk/online-exhibitions/drawing-esher/
Created 10 September2023