Charles Haigh-Wood

How long will it take him to propose to me? 1891. Victorian England Parlor Scene

1891

William Arthur Breakspeare. English ( b.1855 - d.1914 ). A Rendezvous In The Park In The Autumn Fall. Oil On Panel. Signed Lower Right. Image size 12.6 inches x 7.3 inches ( 32cm x 1...

Margaret Maitland Howard. English ( b.1898 - d.1983 ). Pan, God Of Nature, Playing Panpipes. Oil On Canvas. Signed Lower Left. Image size 22.6 inches x 18.1 inches ( 57.5cm x 46cm ). Frame size 26.8 inches x 22.2 inches ( 68cm x 56.5cm ). Available for sale; this original oil painting is by the English artist Margaret Maitland Howard and dates from the 1930s. The painting is presented and supplied in a sympathetic contemporary frame (which is shown in these photographs), mounted with new fixtures. The canvas has been lined and mounted on a newly constructed custom made stretcher. The painted surface has benefitted from cleaning and conservation, all of which was performed on our instruction, supervision and approval. This vintage painting is now in very good condition. It wants for nothing and is supplied ready to hang and display. The painting is signed lower left. Margaret Maitland Howard was an accomplished and versatile English artist whose works spanned the early to mid-20th century. Known for her evocative and often mythologically inspired oil paintings, Howard’s work reflects a deep engagement with classical themes and her knowledge of nature, and the human form. She was also proficient working in watercolours and pastels and an accomplished sculptor. Margaret, who was always known as “Marjorie” was born in Friern, Barnet, London on 31 July 1898, the daughter of artist and civil servant Henry James Howard. She grew up at Sutton, Surrey, where she spent most of her life. She spent many years living and working from St. Katherine’s, Malgrave Road, Sutton, Surrey. She was educated privately, at the Byam Shaw and then attended the Vicat Cole School of Art, completing her studies at the Royal Academy Schools, where she won five silver medals and other awards. She was also the recipient of a British Institute scholarship and extension and won the 1926 prize for her portrait work at the National Welsh Eisteddfod in Swansea. She exhibited paintings at the Royal Academy, showing at least ten works of classical and biblical themes at Summer Exhibitions between 1923 and 1935. She was one of the early group of women who painted nudes, a practice which was considered somewhat risqué and vulgar in the early twentieth century. She also exhibited at other leading galleries and in the provinces and consistently pursued her art despite the challenges posed by the societal norms of the time. Howard had a significant professional career for a woman of her generation. Just after World War II she was appointed draughtsman to the Institute of Archaeology at London University where she worked from 1948 to 1960. This is now part of University College, London. Here, she worked as an illustrator and sculptor, creating models for Professor Frederick Zeuner to use in his lectures. She also illustrated one of his important books (Zeuner, F.E. Dating the Past, London: Methuen). She also created the bust of Gordon Childe, now in the Institute’s Library. After her retirement from the Institute of Archaeology she collaborated with Ian Wolfran Cornwall on his series of books about the prehistoric world. In 1956, whilst working for the British Institute for the Study of Iraq, she moved to Balawat and supervised the archaeological work at the site of an ancient Assyrian city in northern Mesopotamia. She subsequently prepared drawings of the Balawat Gates, which was significant and technical work. In addition to illustrating various books on ancient history and anthropology, Howard was also known as an illustrator of fictional books, producing an illustrated edition of the Fables of Aesop that was published by John Lane at The Bodley Head in 1926. She also illustrated Elizabeth Ward...

François Désiré Antoine Gailliard. Belgian ( b.1861 – d.1932 ). Le Petit Jardinier, 1887. Oil On Canvas. Signed & Dated Lower Right. Image size 36.6 inches x 28.5 inches ( 93cm x 72.5cm ). Frame size 41.7 inches x 33.5 inches ( 106cm x 85cm ). Available for sale; this original oil painting is by the Belgian luminist artist François Gailliard and is dated 1887. The canvas and the painted surface have benefitted from cleaning, restoration and conservation, which was performed on our instruction, supervision and approval. The painting is presented and supplied in its original frame. The frame has been restored and reinforced with supporting brackets along with new replacement hanging fittings. This antique painting is now in very good condition. It wants for nothing and is supplied ready to hang and display. The painting is signed and dated lower right. The renowned Belgian luminist painter, François Désiré Antoine Gailliard (also known as Frans or Franz Gailliard) was born in November 1861, in Brussels, Belgium. He was the son of Désiré Gailliard, a baker, and Anne Hubert. He grew up during a period when the country’s artistic landscape was flourishing. Raised in an atmosphere that encouraged artistic expression, Gailliard showed an early talent for drawing and painting. He pursued formal training at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, one of Belgium’s most prestigious art institutions. There, he studied under influential artists and developed the foundational skills that would shape his career. Gailliard initially joined the studio of Jean-François Portaels, then went on to study with Jules Hoeterickx, François Bossuet, and James Ensor. He also worked alongside Fernand Khnopt and became friends with James Abbott McNeill Whistler, the American artist, who he met in 1887 during stays in Berlin and Paris. He became part of the artistic and intellectual circles of Belgium, and other close friends included artists such as Alfred Stevens, Jean-Louis Forain and Félicien Rops. Finally, he joined the studio of Jean-Léon Gérôme in Paris. The academic environment in Brussels exposed Gailliard to various artistic traditions, but his work reflected an interest in pushing beyond academic conventions. Gailliard was particularly drawn to the evolving styles of the time, especially Realism and early explorations of Impressionism and Luminism, which would later define his signature style. Gailliard’s early work showed influences from the Barbizon School and other European Realists, focusing on meticulous, lifelike representations of nature, figures, and everyday scenes. Like many artists of his generation, he was deeply impacted by the works of French artists such as Jean-François Millet and Camille Corot, who emphasized the beauty in the ordinary and the rural. This focus on realism, combined with a sensitivity to light and atmosphere, became a defining feature of Gailliard’s work. However, Gailliard also admired Impressionism and its experimental use of colour and light. By the late 19th century, the work of French Impressionists like Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir had gained international attention, and Belgian artists, including Gailliard, were beginning to incorporate these new approaches into their own work. His art became a fusion of detailed realism and a growing interest in capturing fleeting moments, light, and atmosphere—characteristics that placed him in alignment with Belgium’s Luminism movement. Gailliard’s paintings from this period are characterized by their use of light and their focus on everyday scenes, especially those connected to nature and the rural life of Belgium. While he was not a strict follower of Impressionist techniques, his work often employed similar methods, particularly the soft, diffused use of colour to create atmosphere. “Le Petit Jardinier” (1887), is one of his most notable works and exemplifies his ability to render both figures and nature with careful attention to light. Gailliard’s paintings were usually large canvases presenting genre scenes, portraits, nudes and landscapes. His works often highlighted the beauty in the ordinary and displayed a sense of quiet dignity and respect for his subjects. He also produced news cartoons, presented in French, Belgian and English weekly newspapers such as Le patriote illustré, Le petit bleu, and the London Illustrated News. Gailliard’s work was regularly exhibited both in Belgium and abroad. He presented his first painting at the 1881 Brussels Salon, then from 1882 to 1891 exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français de Paris. He also exhibited in Berlin, and participated in major exhibitions, including those organized by influential art societies in Belgium such as Les XX and La Libre Esthétique, both known for promoting avant-garde art. Although Gailliard was not a founding member of these groups, his participation in their exhibitions placed him alongside other significant artists of his time, and he gained a reputation for his refined style and technical mastery. In 1897 he painted a portrait of King Chulalongkorn of Siam during his official visit to Belgium. Gailliard married Julie Constantine Maus in Brussels in 1898. They had a son, Jean-Jacques Gailliard, who also became an artist, designer and engraver. As Gailliard matured as an artist, his style remained rooted in realism and Luminism, though he also incorporated elements of Symbolism and Romanticism. His later works showed a deepening appreciation for mood and emotion, with a focus on portraits, landscapes, and scenes that often carried a sense of introspection. His paintings evoke a sense of calm and reflection, with light used not just to illuminate but to convey a deeper emotional or symbolic meaning. Gailliard went on to become the director of the Academy of Fine Arts of Saint Gilles, where, through the later efforts of his son, his reputation lives on. François Gailliard died in 1932 in Saint-Gilles, Brussels, where a street was named after him. He left behind a body of work that, while perhaps overshadowed by more radical movements of the time, remained respected for its craftsmanship and its commitment to realism and light. In the decades following his death, his work has been rediscovered and appreciated for its role in bridging the gap between Realism and the evolving movements of Impressionism and Luminism in Belgium. In 1957 he was given a retrospective tribute exhibition in the City Hall of Saint Gilles, organised by the Group d’Art Saint Gillois. Today, Gailliard’s paintings are celebrated for their quiet elegance, their masterful treatment of light, and their sensitive portrayal of everyday life. His work continues to be exhibited in Belgian art institutions, and he is regarded as one of the key figures of late 19th and early 20th century Belgian art. © Big Sky Fine Art “Le Petit Jardinier” (1887) by François Gailliard (also known as Franz or Frans Gailliard) is a captivating and significant oil on canvas painting, signed and dated by the artist in the lower right corner. In this evocative piece, a young boy, dressed in a blue apron over a striped shirt, stands confidently against a textured background of warm, earthy tones. His gaze is calm and proud. He holds a red geranium plant in a terracotta plant pot...

Follower of Edgard Maxence. French ( b.1871 - d.1954 ). Meditation, Circa 1910. Oil On Canvas. Image size 34.4 inches x 22.2 inches ( 87.5cm x 56.5cm ). Frame size 44.1 inches x 31.9...

Discussing Ailments by ALEXANDER AUSTEN (1859-1924) signed with monogram oil on canvas, framed framed: 13.5 x 17 inches canvas: 9 x 12 inches Provenance: Private collection, Yorkshir...

The Country House Interior British School, 19th century oil painting on canvas, framed canvas: 21 x 17 inches framed: 24 x 20 inches conditon: very sound, presentable and good. Frame...

Charles Hunt Jnr British, (1829-1900) A Visitor Calls Oil on canvas, signed Image size: 24.75 inches x 34.75 inches Size including frame: 32.25 inches x 42.25 inches A wonderful genre painting by Charles Hunt of two men and two boys with horses and other animals in a cottage. A farmer and his two sons can be seen eating lunch at a table in rustic interior as a visitor approaches. Perhaps encouraged by the boys, a piglet seems to have found its way onto the table whilst a rabbit and guinea pig eat cabbage leaves on the floor. To the far right, a horse is shown in a stable area along with some piglets. To the far left, a terrier waits on the step by its master. Charles Hunt was a genre and figure painter born in Kensington, London in 1829. His sons Reuben Hunt...

Charles Hunt Jnr British, (1829-1900) A Deal to be Done Oil on canvas, signed Image size: 24.75 inches x 34.75 inches Size including frame: 32.25 inches x 42.25 inches A superb genre painting of two men and a boy with donkeys and other animals in cottage by Charles Hunt. Two men are depicted conversing at a table in rustic surroundings as a boy watches on. Meanwhile, two donkeys and a pig can be seen chewing the leaves of a turnip on the floor nearby as a small dog stares out at the viewer. Through the open door to the far left, we are shown a glimpse of a garden path leading to a gate with trees and a landscape beyond. Charles Hunt was a genre and figure painter born in Kensington, London in 1829. His sons Reuben Hunt...