Thomas Brooks

19th Century genre landscape oil painting of women picking flowers

1878

William Edward Webb British, (1862-1903) Penzance Harbour Oil on canvas, signed Image size: 29 inches x 45.5 inches Size including frame: 38 inches x 54.5 inches A pleasing coastal painting of Penzance Harbour at low tide by William Edward Webb. In the foreground, a fisherman sells his catch to a woman and her daughter, whilst figures in horses and carts wait for others to unload their boats. William Edward Webb was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire in 1862 to William Benjamin Webb and Ellen Butler. His father was a printer and an artist and it is highly likely he received tuition from him. Following the death of his mother, his father remarried and moved the family to Manchester sometime after 1871. By the 1880’s, Webb had started working as an artist and later set up a studio at 30 Exchange Buildings in Manchester. He began exhibiting at the Manchester City Art Gallery from 1890, where he showed more than 60 paintings during his lifetime. He also exhibited at the Royal Academy and Walker Art Gallery Liverpool from 1892. He married Clara Foster in 1899 and the couple lived at 1 Sylvan Grove, Chorlton Upon Medlock in South Manchester with their daughter Florrie. He became friends with the artist Walter Emsley (1860-1938) who also lived in Manchester. Although he spent the rest of his life in Manchester, Webb travelled throughout the UK painting coastal and marine scenes around the main ports and harbours. He spent a great deal of time in the Isle of Mann painting numerous scenes along the coast including views of Peel and Douglas Harbour, subjects he frequently returned to. Webb painted in a highly distinctive style; loose and informal but which manages to retain the sense of perspective. He struggled with ill health and depression throughout his life which sadly led to his suicide 9 November, 1903. In 1974, a retrospective exhibition was held at The Old Customs House and Old Solent House in Lymington, which brought a new found interest in his work. His paintings are now highly sought after and are represented in many collections and Museums including the Astley Hall...

William Stephen Coleman British, (1829-1904) By the Fish Pond Oil on canvas, signed & dated 1898 Image size: 23 inches x 35 inches Size including frame: 30.25 inches x 42.25 inches A beautiful painting by William Stephen Coleman of a woman with two girls in a semi classical style by a Mediterranean pond. The woman is depicted resting on a terrace with her young daughter asleep on her lap, whilst another child catches goldfish in a bowl. This tour de force would have most likely been painted by Coleman as an exhibition piece. William Stephen Coleman was a figurative painter who was born in Horsham in 1829. He was one of 12 children born to a physician named William Thomas Coleman and his wife Henrietta (née Dendy). Three of his siblings Rebecca Coleman (b1837), Helen Cordelia Angell (1847–1884) and George Coleman also became artists, inheriting their artistic talent from their mother’s side of the family. Coleman developed an interest in nature from an early age, producing drawings as a hobby. Despite his ability, he initially followed in his father’s footsteps and trained as a surgeon. However, this proved unsuccessful and by the age of 21 he had turned back to art, later gaining employment with the Dalziel Brothers, a firm of wood engravers who specialised in natural history illustrations. Sometime during the late 1850’s he moved to London where he married his first wife Henrietta Augusta Boultbee in 1858. Around the same time, he began producing illustrations for books; the first of which was entitled ‘Common Objects of the Country’ and published in 1858. He subsequently published two of his own books ‘Our Woodlands. Heaths, and Hedges’ in 1859 and ‘British Butterflies’ in 1860. After the death of his wife in 1860, his sister Rebecca and brother George went to live with him in Garway Road, Paddington. Rebecca would often assist him with the wood blocks for his illustrations. As well as working as an engraver, he also began producing classically influenced paintings featuring figures in landscapes. Initially these were executed in watercolours but later extended to oil paintings. He began exhibiting at the Dudley Gallery in 1865 and was one of the original committee members. He continued to exhibit there until 1879 and was a committee member up until 1881. By 1869, he had also begun to work on pottery decoration and in 1871 was asked by Minton’s to establish an Art Pottery Studio at Kensington Gore. Whilst at Minton’s, he produced figure designs for their ceramic ware. His sister Rebecca also worked at Minton’s and they moved to Belle Vue in Chelsea to be closer to the studio. From 1881, he lived at 3 St John’s Wood Studios, Queens Terrace in Paddington and in 1888 moved to 43 Broadhurst Gardens in Hampstead. In 1893 one of his classically inspired works ‘The Gold Fish Bowl...

William Bromley British, (1816-1890) Gone Fishing Oil on canvas, signed Image size: 13.5 inches x 17.5 inches Size including frame: 18.75 inches x 22.75 inches A picturesque genr...

Ernest Crofts British, (1847-1911) On the March Oil on canvas, signed Image size: 8.5 inches x 12.5 inches Size including frame: 17 inches x 21 inches A wonderful historical painti...

David Bates British, (1840-1921) Early Morning on the Glaslyn Oil on canvas, signed & dated 1895, further inscribed verso Image size: 23.25 inches x 35.25 inches Size including fra...

John Seymour Lucas RA British, (1849-1923) The Surrender of Don Pedro De Valdez to Sir Francis Drake Oil on canvas, signed & dated 1889 Image size: 19.5 inches x 30.5 inches Size including frame: 27 inches x 38 inches This fantastic historical scene by John Seymour Lucas depicts the surrender of Don Pedro De Valdez to Sir Francis Drake, aboard the Revenge during the Spanish Armada off Portland on 1 August, 1588. Don Pedro de Valdez was the commander of the Squadron of Andalusia and was on board the Nuestra Señora del Rosario when it was taken in action by Drake in the Revenge. A full sized version of this painting is held by the National Trust and can be found at Buckland Abbey, Devon. John Seymour Lucas was born in London on 21 December, 1849 to Henry and Elizabeth Lucas (née Seymour). He was the nephew of the portrait painter John Lucas and two of his children, Sydney Seymour...

A very atmospheric scene of a horse and cart crossing the river Wey (a tributary of the river Thames) under a beautiful twilight sky. There is wonderful detail and light with the ar...

A very tranquil scene of fishing boats moored in harbour with a sunlit sea beyond. Painted with a most attractive palette of blues and greens and with a pleasing composition that le...

Pausing for Conversation by William Yates (British, second half 19th century) signed oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 18 x 32 inches provenance: private collection, England condition:...

Tending his Nets English School, signed by the artist, H Wright signed and dated 1860 oil painting on canvas, unframed canvas : 10 x 10 inches provenance: private collection, UK cond...

French School, indistinctly signed/ inscribed dated 1890's oil on canvas, framed framed: 23 x 30 inches canvas: 15 x 22 inches provenance: private collection, France the painting is ...

The Highland Glen by F. E. Jamieson (British 1895-1950) signed with pseudonym oil painting on canvas, framed framed: 25.5 x 35 inches canvas : 20 x 30 inches provenance: private coll...