Standing Stones of Stennis, Stenness, near Kirkwall, Orkney. Arthur Melville ARSA RSW (1855–1904). Watercolour on paper, 29 1/2 x 49 inches (75 x 125 cm). Signed, dates, and inscribed. Provenance: George Melville, the artist's brother; his son Dr George Melville; Dr R B Wilson. [Click on image to enlarge it.]
Melville visited Orkney in the Summer of 1885 with James Guthne. He produced a number of important works which, as lain Gale observes 'are evidence of a maturity in style and technique'. The largest and most ambitious of the Orkney pictures is this work which has a grandeur and 'the out of this world quality present at that latitude'.
Exhibitions
- RI, Collected Works of Arthur Melville, (119)
- Newcastle, 1906 (54)
- GIFA, 1907 (132)
- Nottingham, Melville Memorial Exhibition, 1907 (2)
- Arthur Melville Touring Exhibition, 1977, Dundee Art Gallery
- The Fine Art Society, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London
- Sterling & Sheffield, Arthur Melville, 1977 (14)
References
Gale, Iain. Arthur Melville. London: Atelier Books, 1996; pp. 42, 96.
MacKay, Agnes Ethel. Arthur Melville, Scottish Impressionist, 1855–1904. London: F. Lewis Publishers, 1951; p. 69, 145 no. 309, pl. 18.
Spring '99. Exhibition Catalogue. London: The Fine Art Society, 1999. No. 28.
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Last modified 6 October 2011