Going to Fold; Study for Eclogue VI : 'Til Vesper Bade the Swain'

Physical description

Landscape composition showing: in the foreground, a flock of sheep and lambs being returned to their fold by a figure, as another sits to the left of the image playing a musical instrument; in the middle-distance a river that disappears from sight around a corner into the distance; and in the far distance, the sun setting behind some mountains.

Place of Origin

England, Great Britain (made)

Date

1879 (made)

Artist/maker

Samuel Palmer, born 1805 - died 1881 (artist)

Materials and Techniques

Water-colour

Marks and inscriptions

'Western Shores'
'Samuel Palmer Furze Hill House, Mead Vale, Red Hill Surrey'
'No 1 Going to fold, Samuel Palmer Furze Hill House, Mead Vale Red Hill Surrey'

Dimensions

Height: 12.7 cm, Width: 19.2 cm

Object history note

Described by A. H. Palmer as being 'the last unfinished work of S. Palmer' in Hardie, Martin and James Laver Catalogue of an exhibition of Drawings, Etchings & Woodcuts by Samuel Palmer and other disciples of William Blake, London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1926.

Descriptive line

'Going to Fold', landscape composition showing a flock of sheep being returned to their fold. Water-colour by Samuel Palmer, England, 1879.

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Vaughan, William, Elizabeth E. Barker and Colin Harrison, eds. Samuel Palmer 1805-1881: Vision and Landscape. London: The British Museum Press, 2005. 256 p., ill. (chiefly col.). Catalogue of the exhibition held at the British Museum, 12 October 2005 – 22 January 2006. ISBN 0714126411. Cat. no. 155, p.236, illus.
The full text of the entry is as follows:
‘155*
Study for Eclogue VI: ‘Till Vesper
Bade the Swain’, 1879
Watercolour, 12.5 x 19.2 cm (4 13/16 x 7 9/16 in)

Lit: Lister v14

London: Victoria and Albert Museum,
35-1919
This illustrates the lines from Virgil’s
Eclogue VI in Palmer’s English Version
(cat. 163): ‘till Vesper bade the swain /
number his flock and stall them from the
dew, / and then from the reluctant skies
withdrew.’ A worked-up watercolour,
it follows on from a pair of earlier
studies, although one of these was
described by A.H. Palmer as being ‘the
last unfinished work of S. Palmer’
(V&A 1926, p. 51). It seems to have been
conceived as a separate work and was
exhibited at the Old Water-Colour
Society in 1879 (no. 360) as Going to the
Fold. It shows the idyllic style of Palmer’s
later years, typified by the swain who
seems to be taking the task of numbering
the flock very lightly.’
Catalogue of an Exhibition of Drawings, Etchings & Woodcuts by Samuel Palmer and other Disciples of William Blake October 20 - December 31, 1926. London : Published under the authority of the Board of Education, 1926. Publication No. 178 E.I.D.
The full text of the entry is as follows:

'DRAWINGS, ETC., BY SAMUEL PALMER

[… ]

WATER-COLOUR DRAWINGS FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM

[ … ]

133. Going to Fold.
On the back of the backboard an inscription, “Western Shores,” (cf. No. 132) has been partially obliterated; in faded ink is written by the artist, “Samuel Palmer Furze Hill House, Mead Vale, Red Hill Surrey.” On a piece of paper pasted on to the backboard is written in the artist’s hand, “No 1 Going to fold, Samuel Palmer Furze Hill House, Mead Vale Red Hill Surrey.”
Exhibited at Summer Exhibition of the Old Water Colour Society in 1879, and at the Fine Art Society in 1881-82.
Signed Samuel Palmer 1879.
Water-colour. (5 x 10) P.35-1919.
Presented by Mrs. J. Merrick Head.'

Exhibition History

Exhibition of Drawings, Etchings & Woodcuts by Samuel Palmer and other Disciples of William Blake (Victoria and Albert Museum 20/10/1926-31/12/1926)
Samuel Palmer. Vision and Landscape (British Museum 21/10/2005-22/01/2006)
- (Fine Art Society 01/01/1881-31/12/1882)
Summer Exhibition (Old Water Colour Society 01/01/1789-31/12/1789)

Materials

Water-colour

Techniques

Painting

Subjects depicted

Sheep; Shepherds; Sunset

Categories

Paintings

Collection code

PDP