William Alexander (1767-1816), Chinaman Smoking. Watercolour, 204 x 102 mm. Eton College Collections. Reproduced by permission of the Provost and Fellows of Eton College.

LONDON.- An exceptional selection of drawings and watercolours from the collection of Eton College will be exhibited at February's Works on Paper Fair in London. 

The exhibition will contain some of the finest works from the classic period of English watercolour painting that can be seen anywhere in Britain. It represents an opportunity to see watercolours which are rarely on view to the public, and shines a spotlight on the best collection of early watercolours to belong to any school in Britain. Some of the pictures have never been publicly displayed by the school before. 

Most of the famous names are represented, and the selection includes work by Alexander and John Robert Cozens (Alexander taught drawing at Eton in the 1760s), Thomas Gainsborough, Francis Towne, Thomas Girtin and J.M.W. Turner. The last is represented by a small watercolour of Chateau d’Arques, near Dieppe, which was published as an engraving in 1836, and a much earlier view from the mid-1790s of Skiddaw and Derwentwater in the Lake District, drawn before the artist visited the Lake District and very much in the manner of the influential Edward Dayes. 

Julius Caesar Ibbotson (1759 - 1817), Skating on the Serpentine. ​Watercolour​, pen and grey ink. Eton College Collections. Reproduced by permission of the Provost and Fellows of Eton College. 

Other highlights include works by Edward Lear (The Forest of Valdoniello, Corsica), a large watercolour by Julius Caesar Ibbetson of figures skating (and falling over) on the Serpentine, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1796 with the title Hyde Park - Winter, a Paul Sandby watercolour of Windsor Bridge (with animated figures and a runaway horse), and a large watercolour of Donnybrook Fair outside Dublin by Francis Wheatley dating from circa 1780 and packed with characterful figures, all drawn with the artist’s sublime skill, which belies the improvidence of his personal life. 

Edward Lear (1812-1888), The Forest of Valdoniello, Corsica. Pencil and watercolour heightened with white on blue paper​. Eton College Collections. Reproduced by permission of the Provost and Fellows of Eton College.

Paul Sandby (1731-1809), View of Windsor Bridge. Pencil, pen and grey ink, watercolour. Eton College Collections. Reproduced by permission of the Provost and Fellows of Eton College.

Francis Wheatley (1747-1801), Donnybrook Fair. Pencil, pen and grey ink and watercolour. Eton College Collections. Reproduced by permission of the Provost and Fellows of Eton College.

The exhibition has been selected and curated by Philippa Martin and Lynn Sanders of Eton College Collections, and art dealers Guy Peppiatt and Charles Nugent (former curator, Whitworth Art Gallery).  

Philippa Martin, Keeper of Fine and Decorative Art at Eton, will give a talk about the exhibition on the Friday 10 February at 2.30pm. Tickets to this talk are free but must be booked in advance. 

Entry to the Loan Exhibition is included with entry to the Fair.

George Pyne (1800 - 1884), ​The Cloisters at Eton College. ​Watercolour​. Eton College Collections. Reproduced by permission of the Provost and Fellows of Eton College.