George Clarkson Stanfield (Attributed), Shipwreck

c. 1860

This mid-19th-century oil painting attributed to Scottish artist William Clark of Greenock (1803-1883) depicts a fully-rigged British frigate sailing off Yarmouth and The Needles, Is...

This late 19th-century French oil painting depicts the barque Limbe in choppy waters, with the silhouettes of two further ships beyond. It was probably produced at Le Havre, France, ...

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 English artist Edward Charles Williams (1807-1881), depicts a wooded river landscape with a boathouse, cottage, fishermen and figure...

Antique Victorian, Impressionist 19th century English oil, Fishings boat at Sea. Adolphus Knell was a superb painter of marine subjects during the middle of the 19th century. His w...

A very good antique 19th century British oil on canvas painting, seascape coastal scene by Samuel C. Bird, circa 1870. This very attractive oil on canvas painting depicts a coastal s...

Large Victorian coastal marine painting by Edward William Cooke, R.A. English, 1842 Frame: height 92cm, width 128cm, depth 6.5cm Canvas: height 77cm, width 122cm This superb marine ...

This interesting British 19th century coastal landscape oil painting is by noted Suffolk School artist Edward Robert Smythe. Painted circa 1850 it is a busy coastal landscape with fi...