William Adolphus Knell (Attributed), Yachting In The Mediterranean

c. 1860

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 charming mid-19th-century oil painting attributed to English artist William Traies (1789-1872) depicts a picturesque river view with cascade, figures and cattle. Traies was an a...

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 Scottish artist William Clark of Greenock (1803-1883) depicts a fully-rigged British frigate sailing off Yarmouth and The Needles, Is...

Clement Nye Swift "Breton Chores" 1870 Oil on Canvas Signed and Dated Lower Right Canvas Size: approx 27 x18 inches Framed Size: approx 34 x 35 inches Provenance: Private Midwes...

William Edward Webb British, (1862-1903) Penzance Harbour Oil on canvas, signed Image size: 29 inches x 45.5 inches Size including frame: 38 inches x 54.5 inches A pleasing coastal painting of Penzance Harbour at low tide by William Edward Webb. In the foreground, a fisherman sells his catch to a woman and her daughter, whilst figures in horses and carts wait for others to unload their boats. William Edward Webb was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire in 1862 to William Benjamin Webb and Ellen Butler. His father was a printer and an artist and it is highly likely he received tuition from him. Following the death of his mother, his father remarried and moved the family to Manchester sometime after 1871. By the 1880’s, Webb had started working as an artist and later set up a studio at 30 Exchange Buildings in Manchester. He began exhibiting at the Manchester City Art Gallery from 1890, where he showed more than 60 paintings during his lifetime. He also exhibited at the Royal Academy and Walker Art Gallery Liverpool from 1892. He married Clara Foster in 1899 and the couple lived at 1 Sylvan Grove, Chorlton Upon Medlock in South Manchester with their daughter Florrie. He became friends with the artist Walter Emsley (1860-1938) who also lived in Manchester. Although he spent the rest of his life in Manchester, Webb travelled throughout the UK painting coastal and marine scenes around the main ports and harbours. He spent a great deal of time in the Isle of Mann painting numerous scenes along the coast including views of Peel and Douglas Harbour, subjects he frequently returned to. Webb painted in a highly distinctive style; loose and informal but which manages to retain the sense of perspective. He struggled with ill health and depression throughout his life which sadly led to his suicide 9 November, 1903. In 1974, a retrospective exhibition was held at The Old Customs House and Old Solent House in Lymington, which brought a new found interest in his work. His paintings are now highly sought after and are represented in many collections and Museums including the Astley Hall...

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 honourable mention in 1881 and a third place medal in 1888. William Thornley also went by the names Georges William and William...

Paul-Emile Perboyre French, (1851-1929) The Surrender Oil on canvas, signed & dated 1916 Image size: 20.5 inches x 25 inches Size including frame: 26.25 inches x 30.75 inches Paul-E...