British Pictures 2015

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7. John William North, 1842-1924

Image information

Description

‘The Bat Begins with Giddy Wing’ - Barley Field over the Hedge

Watercolour and pencil with scratching out; initialled and dated 1885, labelled with title

11 1⁄2 x 17 3⁄4 inches

Additional Description
North took for his title a poem from a remarkable book by Thomas Forster (his Circle of the Seasons and Perpetual Key to the Calendar and Almanack, London, 1828, p 409) describing the ‘history, antiquities and natural phenomena of each day in the year’, in this case August 16th:

The Bat begins with giddy wing

His circuit round the shed and tree;

And clouds of dancing gnats to sing

A Summer night’s serenity.

North’s wanting ‘to make his drawings tingle and shimmer with light led him to paint multitudinous details melting together, with spots and particles of pure colour. His method can be compared with pointillisme; certainly, he was groping for method of expression which the French Impressionists developed more fully.’ (Martin Hardie)