Ernest Crofts

19th Century historical military oil painting of a Napoleonic artillery soldier

1886

Pierre-Louis Bouchard French, (1831-1889) Une Bonne Tasse de Thé Oil on canvas, signed Image size: 23 inches x 13.75 inches Size including frame: 35 inches x 25.75 inches A lovely portrait of a young woman pouring a cup of tea, by Pierre Louis Bouchard. The woman is depicted wearing a green striped dress with a white apron, whilst on her head is a mob cap decorated with a red ribbon. She is shown standing before a table containing a porcelain tea service on a silver salver. She is painted with her head turned towards the viewer as she expertly pours the tea into a cup. The mode appears similar to others figures the artist painted and could well have been the same person. Pierre Louis Bouchard was born Pierre-François Bouchard in Lyon on 2 May 1831 to Pierre Bouchard and Amelie Baron. In 1845, he began studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lyon where he was taught by Jean-Claude Bonnefond (1796-1860). He then moved to Paris where he became a pupil of Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904) at the Ecole des beaux Arts. He also studied under Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin...

Antonio Ermolao Paoletti Italian, (1834-1912) Feeding the Rabbit Oil on canvas, signed Image size: 13.25 inches x 11 inches Size including frame: 20.75 inches x 18.5 inches A wonde...

George Turner British, (1843-1910) Harvesting near Barrow-on-Trent Oil on canvas, signed & dated (18)86, further inscribed verso Image size: 19.25 inches x 29.25 inches Size includ...

Walter Williams British, (1834-1906) Harvest Field at Sunset, Clayton near Brighton Sussex Oil on canvas, signed Image size: 15.5 inches x 23.5 inches Size including frame: 21.5 inc...

This spellbinding late 19th-century oil painting by Scottish artist Robert Walker Macbeth RA ROI RWS (1848-1910) depicts a young woman wearing...

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...

This mid-19th-century oil painting attributed to British artist William Adolphus Knell (1805-1875) depicts a sailing yacht before a Mediterranean coastline. Knell was one of the lead...

This witty early 20th-century oil painting by British artist Edgar Bundy ARA RI RBA (1862-1922) depicts a young country woman visiting the home of her wealthy relatives, to much dism...