Harewood House, Yorkshire, from the South-East about 1801 Thomas Girtin 1775-1802 Pencil, watercolour, stopping out and scratching out on laid paper Lent by the Earl & Countess of Harewood and the Trustees of the Harewood House Trust

Room 5 Harewood House, Yorkshire, from the South-East This is one of a pair of large views of Harewood House taken from the park. They were commissioned by the owner of Harewood, Edward Lascelles, who paid 20 guineas (£21) for each. The works were mounted on stretchers, just like oil paintings, glazed and framed, and hung in Lascelles' London home in Hanover Square. This work has faded, but it retains much of its original power. Lascelles was a sympathetic patron, and allowed Girtin to make the house subservient to the landscape setting and to include a dramatic sunset with ominous clouds gathering above.