William John Wainwright

William John Wainwright RWS RBA, The Drunkard

1889

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 buoyant late 19th-century oil painting by Danish artist Niels Frederik Schiøttz-Jensen (1855-1941) depicts a coastal view in Capri, Italy, with a travelling family. Schiøttz-Jen...

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...

“Cabo Azul 3” is 43” x 36”. Frank Arnold’s paintings exhibit the highest quality materials for a truly archival piece, created to last generations. Much of Frank Arnold’s work is so...

“Mod 7” is 20”x 16”. The heavy handed application of pigment renders an impasto portrait from another place in the deeper mind of the artist. Frank Arnold is one of the foremost abst...

"Ruler 58" Oil on Canvas depicts a bold commanding visage in a mixed palette with dominant blues. is a bold visage Frank Arnold is thought by many to be one of the foremost abstract ...

" Black 5" is 36” x 36”. Solo figure, head and shoulders in bold white outline. Frank Arnold’s paintings exhibit the highest quality materials for a truly archival piece, created to ...