Public data from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Learn more
About the Artwork
The inscription on the reverse of this drawing, "Bray Church Yard-1807," likely refers to St. Michael’s, the parish church in the village of Bray on the banks of the Thames in the county of Berkshire. The banks of the lower Thames Valley provided the subject matter for many of John Varley’s early watercolors. His pursuit of the picturesque led the artist to turn his back on London and its connotations of commerce and industry, focusing instead on the rural aspects of the scene.
Inscriptions
inscribed, in graphite, on verso, at lower left: BrayChurch Yard - 1807
Provenance
1912: (sale, Victor G. Fischer Company Collection, Anderson Galleries, New York, February 19, 1912, no. 655) probably 1912-1931: James Parmelee [1855-1931], Washington, DC, by descent to Alice Maury Parmelee, Washington, DC 1931-1940: Alice Maury Parmelee [1862-1940], Washington, DC, bequeathed to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH 1940-: Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941). European Watercolors Through the 18th Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 14-March 22, 1964). British Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art . The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 10-May 26, 2013).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- John Varley (British, 1778–1842)
- Date
- 1807
- Medium
- watercolor and graphite
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 24.9 x 36.9 cm (9 13/16 x 14 1/2 in.)
- Type
- Drawing
- Classification
- Drawing
- Department
- Drawings
- Credit line
- Bequest of James Parmelee
- Accession no.
- 1940.564
More by John Varley in museum collections
Bamborough Castle from the Northeast, with Holy Island in the Distance, Northumberland
John Varley1827 · Drawing
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00011129
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