Dumbarton Rock from the South

Joseph Farington

1788 · Pen and gray ink and watercolor · Drawings and Prints

Farington here describes a volcanic plug situated in southwest Scotland, at the confluence of the rivers Clyde and Leven. This southern view includes the castle, garrison, and gun battery built near the shore to defend a key access point to the sea. One of the most adept and prolific landscape draftsmen of his generation, the artist traveled through Scotland from August to October 1788, preparing designs for aquatints in a projected final volume for John Boydell’s The History of the Principal Rivers of Great Britain (1794–96). When the French Revolution impacted the British print trade, the prints of Scottish subjects were never published, but this drawing survives to convey Farington’s strong aesthetic response to a distinct northern landscape.

Artist

Joseph Farington

Date

1788

Medium

Pen and gray ink and watercolor

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, Raymond Lifchez Living Trust Gift, 2014