Items Similar to Modernist Watercolour On Paper, Trees At Buckfast Abbey
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 13
Alban F Atkins RAModernist Watercolour On Paper, Trees At Buckfast Abbey1963
1963
About the Item
Early 1960s work on paper of a group of trees at Buckfast Abbey in Devon, England, by Alban Atkins. Signed bottom left, titled and dated to the reverse. There is also a collection or accession number to the backboard.
Atkins has captured the sculptural nature of the tree trunks as they have grown in the landscape giving the work a feeling of living, writhing things as well as an abstract feel in the composition.
Atkins was one of the group of important artists chosen and commissioned by Sir Kenneth Clarke in the 1940s for the 'Recording Britain' project.
The scheme was known as 'Recording the changing face of Britain' and was established by Sir Kenneth Clark, then the director of the National Gallery. It ran alongside the official War Artists' Scheme, which he also initiated. Clark was inspired by several motives: at the outbreak of war in 1939, there was a concern to document the British landscape in the face of the imminent threat of bomb damage, invasion, and loss caused by the operations of war. This was allied to an anxiety about changes to the landscape already underway, such as the rapid growth of cities, road building and housing developments, the decline of rural ways of life and industries, and new agricultural practices, which together contributed to the idea of a 'vanishing Britain'. Clark also wanted to help artists, and the traditional forms of British art such as watercolour painting, to survive during the uncertain conditions of wartime. He in turn was inspired by America's Federal Arts Project which was designed to give artists employment during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
In 1940 the Committee for the Employment of Artists in Wartime, part of the Ministry of Labour and National Service, launched a scheme to employ artists to record the home front in Britain, funded by a grant from the Pilgrim Trust. It ran until 1943 and some of the country's finest watercolour painters, such as John Piper, Sir William Russell Flint and Rowland Hilder, were commissioned to make paintings and drawings of buildings, scenes, and places which captured a sense of national identity. Their subjects were typically English: market towns and villages, churches and country estates, rural landscapes and industries, rivers and wild places, monuments and ruins. Northern Ireland was not covered, only four Welsh counties were included, and a separate scheme covered Scotland.
Over 1500 works were eventually produced by 97 artists, of whom 63 were specially commissioned. At the time the collection had a propaganda role, intended to boost national morale by celebrating Britain's landscapes and heritage. Three exhibitions were held during the war at the National Gallery, and pictures from the collection were sent on touring exhibitions and to galleries all around the country. After the war, the whole collection was given to the V&A by the Pilgrim Trust in 1949, and it was documented in a four volume catalogue published between 1946 and 1949. For many years the majority of the collection was on loan to councils and record offices in each county, until recalled by the V&A around 1990. The pictures now form a memorial to the war effort, and a unique record of their time.
Atkins works are held in National galleries and private collections worldwide.
- Creator:Alban F Atkins RA
- Creation Year:1963
- Dimensions:Height: 30.75 in (78.11 cm)Width: 23.25 in (59.06 cm)Depth: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Good overall condition, stable as framed. Some scuffing and tearing to the paper, see photo. The work is currently glazed but will be shipped without the glass.
- Gallery Location:Cotignac, FR
- Reference Number:
About the Seller
5.0
Platinum Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are 1stDibs' most experienced sellers and are rated highest by our customers.
Established in 2000
1stDibs seller since 2020
157 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Cotignac, France
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- Large Scale Architect's Drawing of a French Mid Century Villa and GardenLocated in Cotignac, FRA large scale French Mid Century watercolour painting of a stylish late 1950s villa and its garden in the South of France. This painting was acquired with another by the same artist...Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Landscape Paintings
MaterialsPaper, Crayon, Watercolor, Gouache
- Olive Grove and Poppies, Contemporary Impressionist Pastel on Paper.Located in Cotignac, FRA contemporary Impressionist pastel on paper by British artist Miranda McCarthy. Signed to the bottom right and presented in a black case frame. The softness of pastel as a medium ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsPaper, Pastel
- 1930s French Impressionist Watercolour of Children in an Idyllic Country SceneLocated in Cotignac, FRFrench Impressionist watercolour on paper view of children in an idyllic country scene by Henri Clamen. Signed bottom right. Acquired from the atelier of the artist with other signed...Category
Early 20th Century Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Ink, Watercolor
- 1930s French Impressionist Watercolour of a Forest and Mountain LandscapeLocated in Cotignac, FRFrench Impressionist watercolour on paper view of a colourful forest and mountain landscape by Henri Clamen. The painting is signed bottom right. A charming view of a colourful moun...Category
Early 20th Century Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Ink, Watercolor
- French Impressionist Watercolour of a Chapel at NyonsLocated in Cotignac, FRFrench Impressionist watercolour on paper of a chapel in a landscape by Henri Clamen. The painting is titled and dated to the back of the paper. Though not signed it was acquired fro...Category
Early 20th Century Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Ink, Watercolor
- Boats in Harbour, Looking out to the Sea, Colourful French Watercolour, The PortLocated in Cotignac, FRWatercolour view of boats in a port, looking out to sea, by French Painter Jean-Paul Claveau. The painting is signed and dated bottom left and presented in painted wood frame, with c...Category
Late 20th Century Modern Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor
You May Also Like
- "Spring Sassafras" Original Mixed Media on Board by Tom Perkinson, FramedBy Tom PerkinsonLocated in Encino, CA"Spring Sassafras" is an original mixed media on board by Tom Perkinson. His use of saturated violets, vivid yellows, and resplendent oranges pushes color to almost-otherworldly real...Category
1970s Realist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsPastel, Color Pencil, Watercolor, Mixed Media, Ink
- "Collecting Cattails" Original Mixed Media on Board by Tom Perkinson, FramedBy Tom PerkinsonLocated in Encino, CA"Collecting Cattails" is an original mixed media on board by Tom Perkinson. His use of saturated violets, vivid yellows, and resplendent oranges pushes color to almost-otherworldly r...Category
1970s Realist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsPastel, Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor, Color Pencil
- "Flat Lands" Original Landscape Mixed Media on Paper by Tom Perkinson, FramedBy Tom PerkinsonLocated in Encino, CA"Flat Lands" is an original mixed media on paper by Tom Perkinson. His use of saturated violets, vivid yellows, and resplendent oranges pushes color to almost-otherworldly realms. Th...Category
1970s Realist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsPastel, Color Pencil, Watercolor, Mixed Media, Ink
- "Reflections in the Pond" Large Mixed Media on Board by Tom Perkinson, FramedBy Tom PerkinsonLocated in Encino, CA"Reflections in the Pond" is an original mixed media on board by Tom Perkinson. His use of saturated violets, vivid yellows, and resplendent oranges pushes color to almost-otherworld...Category
1970s Realist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsPastel, Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor, Color Pencil
- "Plains Indian Camp" Lrg Original Mixed Media on Paper by Tom Perkinson, FramedBy Tom PerkinsonLocated in Encino, CA"Plains Indian Camp" is an original mixed media on paper by Tom Perkinson. His use of saturated violets, vivid yellows, and resplendent oranges pushes colo...Category
1980s Realist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsPastel, Color Pencil, Watercolor, Mixed Media, Ink
- "1940 - New Mexico Farmers" Orig. Mixed Media on Board by Tom Perkinson, FramedBy Tom PerkinsonLocated in Encino, CA"1940 - New Mexico Farmers" is an original mixed media on board by Tom Perkinson. His use of saturated violets, vivid yellows, and resplendent oranges pushes color to almost-otherwor...Category
1970s Realist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsPastel, Color Pencil, Watercolor, Mixed Media, Ink
