Artwork
Interior of the Friends' Meeting House, Laskill, Ryedale
Interior of the Friends' Meeting House, Laskill, Ryedale is a watercolor work on paper by the Social Realist artist Rowntree. It dates from 1940 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. This watercolour painting, created in 1940, captures the interior of the Friends' Meeting House in Laskill, Ryedale.
About this work
Overview
This watercolour painting, created in 1940, captures the interior of the Friends' Meeting House in Laskill, Ryedale. It was produced as part of the Recording Britain project, a wartime initiative to document Britain's cultural and architectural heritage.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a simple, unadorned meeting house interior with wooden benches, old-fashioned lanterns, and a bare floor. The scene conveys a sense of quiet, understated spirituality and historical continuity.
Technique & Style
The artist's loose, rapid brushstrokes and muted colour palette, featuring earthy browns, soft yellows, and pale grays, evoke a sense of age and wear, capturing the meeting house's character and atmosphere.
History & Provenance
The work was commissioned under the Recording Britain project, funded by the Pilgrim Trust and overseen by Sir Kenneth Clark, as part of a broader effort to record places vulnerable to wartime changes or destruction.
Context
The painting reflects the project's focus on preserving scenes of national identity, particularly in rural and historical settings, during a time of significant upheaval.
Artist & collection
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