George William Mote

George William Mote, Near Guildford, Surrey

1888

This atmospheric late-19th-century oil painting by British artist George Garth Fryer (1832-1912) depicts a coastal landscape with fisherfolk, boats, and cottages. Born in Preston, Fr...

This mid-19th-century oil painting by British artist Henry Bright (1810-1873) depicts a panoramic view with cottage, pond, figure and peaks. Nestled within the formidable Welsh hills stands a humble cottage of stone and thatch. Warmed by a comforting fire, it’s a welcome retreat amid unpredictable weather. A woman, wrapped in a heavy woollen shawl, ambles between grassy banks with the tinted peaks beyond elegantly wrapped in cool mists. On the left, the gable end of a dilapidated barn is illuminated. While in the foreground, several boulders stand adjacent to a pond. Born in Saxmundham, Suffolk, Henry Bright’s formative years were spent pursuing a career as a chemist. His father, Jerome, a clockmaker, encouraged the young man to find a trade - dissuading him from artistic pursuits. Following an apprenticeship, he worked as a dispenser for Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, employing every spare moment to draw from nature. There’s a fascinating character to the Suffolk countryside, which compels those with an eye for beauty to capture its majesty. Tranquil rivers, shimmering streams, leafy woods, rustic mills and vast irrepressible skies - coastal and inland, have inspired artists for generations. Gainsborough and Constable were smitten and Bright followed suit. His precocious skill for drawing was soon noticed by his peers, who urged him to ditch the apothecary in favour of the brush. His decision to do so led him to Norfolk and into the welcoming arms of a provincial art movement known as the Norwich School. Influenced by masters of the Dutch Golden Age, such as Meindert Lubbertszoon Hobbema (1638-1709) and Jacob van Ruisdael (1628/9-1682), its members were inspired by the natural environment. He was trained by Alfred Stannard (1806-1889), John Berney Crome...

John Brandon Smith, John Brandon Smith is an English landscape artist of some renown. He concentrated on the waterways of England, Scotland and Wales. He was particularly interested in the effects of cascading water. This led to his being given the moniker 'Waterfall Smith'. He was fascinated by the spectacle of rivers in spate. Many of his paintings concentrated on the rivers Conway, Llugwy and Lledr in North Wales but he also painted the rivers of England and Scotland. Some of his more celebrated works show The Swallow Falls and Aysgarth Falls in North Yorkshire. He used many shades of green and blue on his small, jewel-like canvases. He would occasionally introduce the figure of a fisherman to provide perspective. His themes are characteristic of the Renaissance of the European Romantic Movement. He exhibited twenty-two works at The Royal Academy between 1860 and 1874. He also exhibited at Suffolk Street. This is a very rare large example of the painters work. It is framed in an Antique English frame

Provenance: Christie’s, London, 3 March 1922, lot 46 (with The Tower of Babel); James Nicoll Private Collection Sotheby’s, London, 29 March 1983, lot 157 Private Collection, New Yo...