Amos Green

Amos Green, Near Ingleton, Yorkshire

c. 1800

This early 19th-century watercolour by British artist Paul Sandby Munn RWS (1773-1845) depicts a riverside view at Mallevy in North Wales. Amid a hasty world where technology consumes our waking hours, few of us find the time to consider the subtle beauties of quiet watercolours. Yet, during the late 18th century, when Munn began producing his skillfully-rendered views, this style of drawing was considered an act of rebellion. Indeed, to such an extent that, together with several associates, Munn contributed to one of the most vital artistic circles in British history - the “Brothers” sketching club. Held every Saturday, the sketching club sought to raise the status of landscape watercolours from their lowly position as mere copies of nature. Fellow artists such as John Varley, Thomas Girtin and John Sell Cotman...

This idyllic late 19th-century oil painting by English artist Edward William Cooke RA (1811-1880) depicts a west-country cove with two cottages, donkeys, figures, and fishing boats. Cooke was a highly renowned painter of marine scenes and landscapes who exhibited extensively at London’s Royal Academy. From our elevated vantage point, the view extends between two quaint cottages and across the beach before sweeping around the sandy coastline. Crystalline waters lap the shore, where moored craft rest. It’s an accomplished rendering of a challenging composition. It’s enhanced by trees, which essentially ‘frame’ the right side, while a wooded track provides interest on the left. Cooke was a keen admirer of the Dutch old masters, and the spirit of the Golden Age underpins this splendid work. In diaries, he recorded how he travelled by donkey to access elevated spots in the southwest, so it’s conceivable that he did so here. In his catalogue raisonné, it lists a work from the same year titled ‘Bay with Donkeys’. Born in Pentonville, London, Cooke was raised in the company of accomplished artists as both his father, George Cooke (1781-1834), and his uncle, William Bernard Cooke (1778-1855), were engravers. As such, they were associated with a circle of Victorian painters who aided Cooke’s early development. These included the highly regarded marine painter Clarkson Frederick Stanfield RA RBA (1793-1867), who provided frequent advice and inspiration. Indeed, as a teenager, Cooke produced numerous drawings after Stanfield’s works. A precocious talent, by the age of nine, he was already displaying an advanced understanding of engraving, particularly for ships, coupled with a natural, seemingly in-built skill as a draughtsman. Many of his early drawings depict pastoral landscapes after the masters, such as Nicolaes Berchem (1620-1683), Paulus Potter (1625-1654), and Karel Dujardin (1626-1678). In an extraordinary turn of events, in 1820, his advanced abilities led to his first commission when he provided botanical illustrations for John Loudon's 'Encyclopaedia of Plants’. These were followed by drawings published in the 'Botanical Cabinet...

A watercolour scene in the village of Nidd in North Yorkshire. Presented glazed in a wash line mount and a distressed gilt-effect wooden frame. Unsigned. On watercolour paper.

An original watercolour by Edward Tucker Jnr (1847-1910). Lake District stream with stone bridge crossing. Well presented in a wash-line mount and gilt-effect frame. Signed and dated...