On the Thames at Hammersmith

Varley's delightfully fresh watercolor describes a Thameside scene on a sunny summer day. It centers on a large tree with spreading limbs and abundant foliage, a semi-rural riverbank beyond lined with unadorned buildings and a chimneyed brickworks. Rapidly applied washes describe a slatted fence silhouetted against sunlit grass and workers pursuing everyday tasks. Deft strokes evoke rushes, flowers and a drinking cow. For most of his career, the artist devoted himself to idealized compositions demonstrating principles that he promoted as a successful drawing master. At this moment, public interest in Varley's formal exhibition pieces had waned, and he felt free to create a group of brilliant studies in Hammersmith and Chiswick, their washy effects showing appreciation for technical innovations introduced by Peter De Wint, one of his most talented students.