Riders with Sheep near an Estuary by David Cox (1783–1859). 1830. Watercolor on paper, 6 1/8 x 9 3/16 inches. (15.5 x 23.3 cm). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Accession number 001.414. Purchase, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, Harry G. Sperling Fund, Anne K. and E. Powis Jones Gift, 2001. Click on image to enlarge it.
From the Metropolitan Museum website
Cox painted Riders With Sheep Near an Estuary, possibly a view of Traeth Mawr, near Harlech, in North Wales, around the middle of his prolific career. He had already published an influential treatise on watercolor, made European tours, and moved to London. In the years that followed, he would translate his picturesque views into oil paintings and cultivate an increasingly sketchy style in his drawings. But as he prepared this watercolor, Cox favored sweeping, cleanly described views where strong hues are used sparingly. Touches of brilliant blue animate the sky, while minute passages of emerald and vermilion punctuate the jacket of the standing youth and rider's cloak.
Last modified 27 June 2020