Watercolour sheds new light on city artist
A recently-discovered painting by Birmingham artist David Cox will go on view on Saturday as part of the largest exhibition devoted to his work for a quarter of a century.
The watercolour, The Pont des Arts and the Tuileries from the Quai Conti (1838), will be shown to the public for the first time as an addition to the exhibition Sun, Wind and Rain: The Art of David Cox at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.
It is being lent by The Wordsworth Trust, Dove Cottage, Cumbria, to which it was presented last year. It was previously in the same private family collection for three generations.
The painting was spotted late last year by watercolour specialists Charles Nugent and Andrew Wyld, who are experts in the work of the artist, who has been compared to Turner and other contemporaries.
“This watercolour sketch is the most important discovery relating to Cox’s visit to Paris in 1829 to have been made for many years,” Mr Nugent said.
The exhibition, jointly organised by Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery and the Yale Center for British Art, marks the 150th anniversary of the artist’s death.
It continues in the Gas Hall gallery until May 3.
