Bray Church Yard

Bray Church Yard — John Varley. 1807.

Medium: watercolor and graphite. Dimensions: Sheet: 24.9 x 36.9 cm (9 13/16 x 14 1/2 in.).

Collection record: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

The inscription on the reverse of this drawing, "Bray Church Yard-1807," likely refers to St. Michael’s, the parish church in the village of Bray on the banks of the Thames in the county of Berkshire. The banks of the lower Thames Valley provided the subject matter for many of John Varley’s early watercolors. His pursuit of the picturesque led the artist to turn his back on London and its connotations of commerce and industry, focusing instead on the rural aspects of the scene.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.