George Barret, Irish, 1728/32-1784
Title: Ullswater, Cumberland
Date: c.1780
Medium: Gouache on paper, laid down on linen
Dimensions:
51 x 66 cm
Signed: on verso: George Barret
Credit Line: Purchased, 1975
Object Number: NGI.7736
DescriptionGeorge Barret studied at the Dublin Society Schools under Robert West. In 1763, he moved to London becoming a successful landscape artist. He was a founder member of the Royal Academy in 1768, where he exhibited regularly until 1782. The Lake District was a favoured tourist destination in the eighteenth century. Numerous artists, both professional and amateur, made drawings of the area to satisfy the public's insatiable thirst for picturesque views. This scene is typical of Barret's later style. His handling of foliage gives a light and airy feel to the composition and underlines his move away from the dark, rather gloomy, 'sublime' pictures he executed of Powerscourt Demense in County Wicklow.