Alfred Walter Williams

Alfred Walter Williams, Near Widecombe, Dartmoor, Devon, Oil Painting

1897

This charming mid-19th-century oil painting depicts a river landscape with a thatched cottage, boatmen, and windmill. It’s reminiscent of works by English artist Edward Williams (178...

This charming early 20th-century English School oil painting depicts the Cannon Brewery at North End, Fulham, owned by John Lovibond & Sons Ltd. Founded in 1867, the brewery was bui...

This mid-19th-century oil painting, attributed to English artist George Clarkson Stanfield (1826-1878), depicts a small vessel approaching a shipwreck, close to the coast. Stanfield ...

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...

Rowing on the River English Impressionist, 1980's period signed oil on canvas, framed framed: 25 x 30.5 inches canvas: 20 x 26 inches Provenance: private collection, UK Condition: ve...

Dutch Vessels Morning Light by C.W. Smith (British, early 20th century) signed oil on canvas, framed framed: 15.5 x 21.5 inches canvas: 12 x 18 inches inscribed verso Provenance: pr...

Signed lower right "Nasmyth" leading to one of the whole pleiad of renowned Scottish artists starting with Alexander Nasmyth (1758 -1840). This painting showcases a scene of a landscape with shallow water, where a family is seen wading through a river ford in knee-deep water. The presence of a shepherdess on a high bank, observing the travelers with keen interest, adds a sense of pastoral charm to the composition. One of the focal points of the painting is a picturesque tree that has fallen into the river, adding a touch of drama to the overall scene. The contrast between the lush woodland and bushes on the right side of the foreground and the rolling valley on the left side further enhances the depth and perspective of the painting and superbly illustrates the traditions of the early 19th century British Art...

This original and unique detailed landscape scene of a rural cottage by a stream is by the artist O. J. Clark, English School. Signed lower right, with the cottage scene dated ’85 and is over 100 years old. Clark was an English Landscape painter...