Benjamin Williams Leader

19th century Fall English landscape with figures on a path in the highlands

circa 1880

Alfred Fontville de Breanski (British, 1877–1957) Scottish Loch Scene, oil on canvas, circa 1880 This sweeping Highland view, painted in the robust and luminous manner of Alfred Fon...

J. Heal The Pool of London on the Thames, oil on canvas, circa 1890 This finely detailed oil on canvas by J. Heal, painted circa 1890, captures the industrious grandeur of the Pool ...

J. Heal The Thames Estuary, London, oil on canvas, circa 1890 This evocative maritime scene by J. Heal, painted circa 1890, captures the Thames Estuary at the close of the Victorian...

Edgar Longstaffe (1852–1933) Children Playing by a Lakeside landscape , oil on canvas, circa 1890 This serene and luminous landscape by Edgar Longstaffe, painted circa 1890, capture...

Jane Maria Bowkett British, (1837-1891) Gathering Blackberries Oil on canvas, signed with monogram Image size: 22.75 inches x 34.75 inches Size including frame: 28.75 inches x 40.75...

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 late 19th-century oil painting by British painter George William Mote (1832-1909) depicts a shepherd and his flock before an extensive view across the Surrey countryside near Gu...

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...