Gordale Scar, Yorkshire
- Artist: John William Inchbold
- Date: exhibited 1876
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 1254 x 913 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is the "Gordale Scar, Yorkshire" by John William Inchbold. Painted in 1876, it’s an oil on canvas that captures a dramatic gorge in Yorkshire. Inchbold, born in Leeds, first worked under the Pre‑Raphaelites, but by the 1870s he was moving toward a more atmospheric, almost mystical style. When he first showed the painting at the Royal Academy it was accompanied by lines from William Wordsworth’s 1818 sonnet “Gordale”: … The work plunges us into the dark, steep walls of the gorge, with a thin strip of dying light filtering from above. His brushwork is rough and textured, the rocks almost palpable, and the water at the bottom is depicted with strong, expressive strokes. The use of the white ground and translucent oil gives the scene a subtle luminosity that fades into shadow. This piece was gifted to us by the Patrons of British Art in 1988, a testament to the continuing appreciation of 19th‑century landscape painting. The painting invites us to pause, breathe, and let the quiet, almost eerie atmosphere of Gordale Scar settle in.
See it in person
Gordale Scar, Yorkshire is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
