ORThe Open Room
Digital gallery
Back to the NGA collection
This is a drawing of a natural scene on blue paper. The viewpoint is from the ground level, showing a cluster of trees with a small structure within them. The trees are leaning and create dynamic lines. The drawing style is loose and sketch-like, with delicate pencil marks outlining the foliage and tree trunks. The color palette is mainly grey pencil lines against the blue paper. In the distance, there are vague tree shapes suggesting a forest continuing further back.
Read the visual description

This is a drawing of a natural scene on blue paper. The viewpoint is from the ground level, showing a cluster of trees with a small structure within them. The trees are leaning and create dynamic lines. The drawing style is loose and sketch-like, with delicate pencil marks outlining the foliage and tree trunks. The color palette is mainly grey pencil lines against the blue paper. In the distance, there are vague tree shapes suggesting a forest continuing further back.

National Gallery of Art · Drawing

A Cottage on a Lane

John Varley

Date
probably 1800/1810
Medium
black chalk heightened with white on blue wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 40.9 x 30 cm (16 1/8 x 11 13/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Accession number
1995.52.182
Credit line
Gift of William B. O'Neal
Time span
1776 to 1800
Department
CG-E
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • British
  • Landscape
  • Rustic
  • United Kingdom
  • architecture
  • landscape
Provenance

(Bury Street Gallery [William Drummond], London); purchased by William B. O'Neal, Charlottesville, VA, 1983-1994; gift to NGA, 1995.

Inscription

lower right in brown ink: J Varley

NGA object ID 76172. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.