William Dyce

Pegwell Bay, Kent - a Recollection of October 5th 1858

?1858–60

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In Tate Britain

Walk Through British Art: 1840

Free entry

Artist: William Dyce 1806–1864
Medium: Oil paint on canvas
Dimensions: Support: 635 x 889 mm
frame: 950 x 1200 x 125 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Purchased 1894
Reference: N01407

Display caption

Dyce’s painting was the product of a trip he made in the autumn of 1858 to the popular holiday resort of Pegwell Bay near Ramsgate, on the east coast of Kent. It shows various members of his family gathering shells. The artist’s interest in geology is shown by his careful recording of the flint-encrusted strata and eroded faces of the chalk cliffs. The barely visible trail of Donati’s comet in the sky places the human activities in far broader dimensions of time and space.

Gallery label, November 2016

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Film and audio

Jason Evans

In this film photographer Jason Evans explains how he found a new source of inspiration in the same area of ...

Features

William Dyce, Pegwell Bay, Kent – a Recollection of October 5th 1858 ?1858-60

Pegwell Bay, Kent – a Recollection of October 5th 1858 ?1858–60 by William Dyce

Christiana Payne

Using contemporary reviews of this major work, the artist’s own papers and a visit to the original site, this ...

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