Gray’s "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"
Thomas Gray’s famous poem, written to commemorate a young friend he lost in 1751, offered Hills several Romantic tropes. As a meditation on mortality, the image presents nature as both sympathetic to human emotion and as a bridge to the divine. The artist was a founding member of the Society of Painters in Water-Colours and shared that group’s determination to encourage new public appreciation for the medium. Since the artist was known for his images of animals, it is surprising to find none depicted here. He may have expected contemporary viewers to know Gray’s poem by heart and to recall lines that mention a lowing herd and a moping owl as they contemplated his composition.
Artwork Details
- Title: Gray’s "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"
- Artist: Robert Hills (British, Middlesex 1769–1844 London)
- Author: Related author Thomas Gray (British, London 1716–1771 Cambridge)
- Date: before 1844
- Medium: Watercolor
- Dimensions: Sheet: 8 11/16 × 5 11/16 in. (22 × 14.5 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Ian Woodner Family Collection Fund, 2022
- Object Number: 2022.349
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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