![Charles Martin, '[title not known]' date not known](/art/images/work/T/T10/T10373_10.jpg "[title not known]")
![British (?) School, '[title not known] Verso: [title not known]' date not known](/art/images/work/T/T11/T11000_10.jpg "[title not known] Verso: [title not known]")
Alexander Cozens
Rocky Bay Scene ?circa 1759-65
Oil on paper
support: 160 x 187 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
John Hamilton Mortimer
Caricature Heads date not known
Pen and ink and ink wash on paper
support: 251 x 162 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
Francis Towne
Near Florence date not known
Pen and ink and watercolour on paper
support: 156 x 211 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
Francis Towne
Naples and Capri 1798
Watercolour on paper
support: 407 x 613 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
Francis Barlow
Small Birds, including Pheasants, a Jay and a Swallow date not known
Watercolour and pen and ink on paper
support: 150 x 196 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
Thomas Gainsborough
Study of a Cow date not known
Pencil on paper
support: 144 x 189 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
Thomas Carwitham
Fantasy of Flight circa 1713-1733
Pen and ink and watercolour on paper
support: 370 x 238 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
John Robert Cozens
View from Isola Borromea, Lago Maggiore circa 1783
Watercolour and pencil on paper
support: 264 x 383 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
John Flaxman
Alcestis and Admetus 1789
Pen and ink, watercolour and pencil on paper
support: 238 x 417 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
Thomas Jones
The Bay of Naples and the Mole Lighthouse 1782
Oil on paper
support: 245 x 396 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
John Sell Cotman
Doorway of the Refectory, Rievaulx Abbey 1803
Watercolour and pencil on paper
support: 319 x 255 mm support, secondary: 327 x 264 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
Thomas Uwins
A Study of Hops circa 1811
Pencil and watercolour on paper
support: 345 x 222 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
William Pars
A Bridge on the River Ticino, near Polleggio circa 1770
Pencil and watercolour on paper
support: 243 x 337 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland
A Goose and Two Headless Men date not known
Pencil, watercolour and pen and ink on paper
support: 105 x 167 mm frame (Half Royal): 310 x 437 x 25 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
John `Warwick' Smith
5. Grotto of Pausilippo 1778-9
Pencil and watercolour on paper
support: 189 x 243 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
David Cox
A Railway Engine date not known
Watercolour and pastel on paper
support: 85 x 113 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
George Dance
Tommy Corno Common Council Man of Candlewick Ward date not known
Pencil, pen and ink and watercolour on paper
support: 178 x 149 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
John William Inchbold
Venice, Nocturne. San Giorgio Maggiore date not known
Pencil, watercolour and gouache on paper
support: 179 x 256 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
Richard Wilson
A Grotto date not known
Chalk on paper
support: 234 x 306 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
Thomas Stothard
Hafod circa 1810
Pencil on paper
support: 209 x 164 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
British School 18th century
A Catafalque with Candles date not known
Pencil, pen and ink and watercolour on paper
support: 290 x 221 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
John Downman
Thomas Williams, a Black Sailor 1815
Chalk and pencil on paper
support, secondary: 323 x 297 mm support: 315 x 285 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996![Charles Martin, '[title not known]' date not known](/art/images/work/T/T10/T10373_9.jpg "[title not known]")
Charles Martin
[title not known] date not known
Pen and ink on paper
support: 200 x 127 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
Hercules Brabazon Brabazon
S. Giorgio and the Salute date not known
Watercolour on paper
support: 129 x 184 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996![British (?) School, '[title not known] Verso: [title not known]' date not known](/art/images/work/T/T11/T11000_9.jpg "[title not known] Verso: [title not known]")
British (?) School
[title not known] Verso: [title not known] date not known
Pen and ink on paper, Pencil on paper
support: 160 x 149 mm
Purchased as part of the Opp Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
Formed by the distinguished scholar and collector Paul Oppé (1878–1957), this was one of the last major collections of British watercolours and drawings to have stayed in private hands. The collection has long been regarded as being of national importance and was acquired by Tate in 1996.
The Oppé Collection comprises over 3,000 works of art on paper, including portraits, figurative drawings, and most notably landscapes from the ‘golden age’ of British watercolour painting (1750–1850).
Among the most striking are those produced by artists working in Switzerland and Italy in the era of the Grand Tour, including Richard Wilson, Francis Towne, JR Cozens, John ‘Warwick’ Smith, John Downman, William Marlow and William Pars.
The acquisition of the Oppé Collection was made possible by grants from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund and from the National Art Collections Fund. The cataloguing of the Oppé Collection has also been supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Prints and Drawings Rooms
The full range of Oppé Collection prints and drawings can be surveyed in the Prints and Drawings Rooms.