The Cotman Collection | Girtin, Thomas, 1775 - 1802

Thomas Girtin

1775 - 1802


Thomas Girtin (1775 - 1802) was an exact contemporary of his friend J M W Turner with whom he trained at Dr Monro's Academy. He gained the support of Edward Lascelles of Harewood House and spent the summers of the late 1790s in touring the north of England, returning to London to complete his sketches and teach. He fonded a sketching club at which many of the young generation of artists learned from each other and this was continued by J S Cotman. His career was cut short by his early death in Paris where he was working on a huge panoramic view of the city.