19th century English River landscape with figures, horses, cottage, sheep

circa 1840

David Bates 19th century English River landscape, with fisherman by the river side. David Bates was born in Cambridgeshire. He spent most of his early life in Worcestershire, where he became apprenticed at the Royal Worcester Porcelain Works. A painter in both oils and watercolours, Bates visited North Africa, before returning to paint landscapes mostly of Wales and Scotland. He shows the influence of Benjamin Williams Leader (1831-1923), Joseph Thors and S.H. Baker. David Bates also made small oil sketches of hedges and plants, which were usually inscribed on the reverse. The artist’s works display considerable technical virtuosity, ranging from the serene landscape, to the uneven swagger of his later works, which were noticeably less colourful. Although Bates was more than capable of producing refined landscapes, he was equably as capable of painting detailed...

William Thornley was a painter of coastal scenes whose work is very similar to Hubert and Charles Thornley, who may have been members of the same family. He painted scenes of genre, architecture, and landscapes as well. A number of the landscapes were of Belgium, Holland, Italy, and Norway. However, it is for his seascapes that he is best remembered. Thornley’s works are beautifully detailed and show a masterful understanding of the moods of both weather and sea. They are often small in size and put together with fine detail and great artistic merit. Thornley’s fishing scenes are spirited and similar in style to those of “Jock” Wilson, and are often painted in pairs. Thornley’s works have always been popular when they appear on the art market. He was believed to have first exhibited marines at the Royal Academy in 1859 from an address in Paddington, London and also at the British Institution from 1861 until it closed in 1867. He continued to exhibit at the Royal Academy until 1898. Thornley also exhibited at the Paris Salon and the Salon of French Artists, receiving an honorable mention in 1881 and a third-place medal in 1888. William Thornley also went by the names Georges William and William...

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...

William Stephen Coleman British, (1829-1904) By the Fish Pond Oil on canvas, signed & dated 1898 Image size: 23 inches x 35 inches Size including frame: 30.25 inches x 42.25 inches A beautiful painting by William Stephen Coleman of a woman with two girls in a semi classical style by a Mediterranean pond. The woman is depicted resting on a terrace with her young daughter asleep on her lap, whilst another child catches goldfish in a bowl. This tour de force would have most likely been painted by Coleman as an exhibition piece. William Stephen Coleman was a figurative painter who was born in Horsham in 1829. He was one of 12 children born to a physician named William Thomas Coleman and his wife Henrietta (née Dendy). Three of his siblings Rebecca Coleman (b1837), Helen Cordelia Angell (1847–1884) and George Coleman also became artists, inheriting their artistic talent from their mother’s side of the family. Coleman developed an interest in nature from an early age, producing drawings as a hobby. Despite his ability, he initially followed in his father’s footsteps and trained as a surgeon. However, this proved unsuccessful and by the age of 21 he had turned back to art, later gaining employment with the Dalziel Brothers, a firm of wood engravers who specialised in natural history illustrations. Sometime during the late 1850’s he moved to London where he married his first wife Henrietta Augusta Boultbee in 1858. Around the same time, he began producing illustrations for books; the first of which was entitled ‘Common Objects of the Country’ and published in 1858. He subsequently published two of his own books ‘Our Woodlands. Heaths, and Hedges’ in 1859 and ‘British Butterflies’ in 1860. After the death of his wife in 1860, his sister Rebecca and brother George went to live with him in Garway Road, Paddington. Rebecca would often assist him with the wood blocks for his illustrations. As well as working as an engraver, he also began producing classically influenced paintings featuring figures in landscapes. Initially these were executed in watercolours but later extended to oil paintings. He began exhibiting at the Dudley Gallery in 1865 and was one of the original committee members. He continued to exhibit there until 1879 and was a committee member up until 1881. By 1869, he had also begun to work on pottery decoration and in 1871 was asked by Minton’s to establish an Art Pottery Studio at Kensington Gore. Whilst at Minton’s, he produced figure designs for their ceramic ware. His sister Rebecca also worked at Minton’s and they moved to Belle Vue in Chelsea to be closer to the studio. From 1881, he lived at 3 St John’s Wood Studios, Queens Terrace in Paddington and in 1888 moved to 43 Broadhurst Gardens in Hampstead. In 1893 one of his classically inspired works ‘The Gold Fish Bowl...