Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 15

Robert Fowler
Portrait of Maiden in Coastal Landscape - Scottish Victorian art oil painting

Circa 1893

About the Item

This stunning Scottish Victorian portrait oil painting is by noted artist Robert Fowler. Painted circa 1893 the composition is of a blonde haired maiden in the foreground, dressed in a flimsy robe, sitting on grass and leaning against a tree. Beyond her is a vibrant coastal landscape on a summer's day. One can see the influence of Frederick Leighton in his work and also mythology. There is tremendous brushwork and the vivid blues and greens against the soft white of her robe and the clouds is superb. This is an excellent example of Fowler's work and of Scottish Victorian art. He painted many landscape and scenes around North Wales and Liverpool and the landscape and sitter depict a Welsh Classical Maiden. Signed lower right. Provenance. Rowley Gallery label verso. Condition. Oil on canvas, 36 inches by 28 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in an ornate gilt frame, 46 inches by 38 inches, in good condition. Robert Fowler (1853-1926) was a Scottish artist who painted mythological scenes and landscapes. Fowler was born in Anstruther, Fife, and was brought up mainly by his uncle and aunt while his parents were away on business. He showed a very early aptitude for art, starting first with pencil drawings then moving on to painting and clay modelling. His family moved to Liverpool and Fowler went to school at Liverpool College. At the age of 16, he found employment in a commercial office where his talent for art was recognised by his employer, who encouraged Fowler's parents to send him to art school. Fowler went to London to study at the Heatherley School of Fine Art and the South Kensington Schools. He also spent much time making drawings of the exhibits in the British Museum, being particularly impressed by the Elgin Marbles, and found inspiration in the local art galleries. However, his art studies were curtailed by health problems which necessitated a long period of "convalescence" in Yorkshire and Llandudno in Wales. He moved back to Liverpool and took an art studio in Castle Street, which became his base for several decades. He exhibited his work at the Liverpool autumn exhibitions in 1875, and at the Royal Academy, London, in 1876. He designed posters for the Walker Gallery, and also had work exhibited abroad in Paris and Munich. His studio became a magnet for other artists, writers and musicians. He moved to London in the early 1900s and had a studio in Tite street, Chelsea for some years. Fowler became a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI) in 1891, and the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours. His style was classical - frequently drawing on mythological themes - but also with strong elements of symbolism and Japonism. Artists who influenced Fowler included Frederic Leighton, Albert Moore, George Watts, James Whistler, Frederick Walker and David Woodlock (1842–1929).
  • Creator:
    Robert Fowler (1853 - 1926, Scottish)
  • Creation Year:
    Circa 1893
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 38 in (96.52 cm)Width: 46 in (116.84 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU853114374692

More From This Seller

View All
Victorian Woodland Maiden - British 19thC female artist portrait oil painting
By Annie Louisa Swynnerton
Located in London, GB
This superb 19th century portrait oil painting is by noted Manchester artist Annie Louisa Swynnerton. Her works have previously been bought by artists such as George Clausen and John...
Category

1880s Victorian Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Gleaner - British Victorian art harvest portrait oil painting
By James John Hill
Located in London, GB
This absolutely lovely British Victorian oil painting is by noted Birmingham born artist James John Hill and has some excellent provenance below. The painting actually stayed in Birmingham for many years, hanging in Heathfield Hall, the former residence of inventor and engineer James Watt, but owned at that time by Thomas Pemberton. It then moved to Berwick House in Shropshire. Entitled The Gleaner and painted in1863, it is a charming half length portrait of a young woman with a sheaf of wheat under her arm. She is stood beneath trees and the wheat field is beyond. She is dressed in a lovely pink garment and wearing a brown felt hat, to shade her face from the sun, her dark hair cascading down her shoulder, The hat is decorated with a poppy. The soft tones and sympathetic rendering of the young woman make this a stunning 19th century oil painting with excellent provenance. The painting is housed in its original gilt frame with a beautiful oak leaf motif. Signed and dated 1863 lower left. Provenance. Thomas Pemberton, Heathfield Hall, Handsworth, Birmingham. (Heathfield Hall was the former residence of the inventor and engineer James Watt. Following his death the house had several occupiers including local luminaries Thomas Pemberton and George Tangye). His sale, Christie's, 30 April 1874, lot 95 (69gns to James Watson) Berwick House, Shropshire. (James Watson (1817-1895) was an English merchant, dairy herdsman and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892) Condition. Oil on canvas, 34 inches by 28 inches unframed, in good condition. Frame. Housed in its original gilt frame with oak leaf motif, 42 inches by 36 inches and in good condition. James John Hill RBA (1811 – 27 January 1882), known also by his alias J. J. Hill, was an English landscape and portrait painter, known for his many rustic paintings and portraits of Lady Burdett-Coutts. James John Hill was born sometime in 1811 in Broad Street, Birmingham to Daniel Hill, plater, and Elizabeth Rowlinson, the daughter of a brass founder. He was educated at Hazelwood School, a school founded by the educational reformer Rowland Hill...
Category

1860s Victorian Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Young Boy in Garden - British Edwardian Slade School oil painting
Located in London, GB
This very interesting British Edwardian portrait oil painting is by noted Slade School artist Algernon Cecil Newton. Newton became primarily a landscape artist and exhibited numerous...
Category

Early 1900s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

The Rendezvous - Scottish 1908 art portrait oil painting Elsie Viola Robinson
By James Wallace
Located in London, GB
This stunning romantic exhibited Scottish Edwardian Impressionist portrait oil painting is by noted Scottish artist James Wallace. Painted in 1908 with excellent provenance, the brus...
Category

Early 1900s Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Clara - British Art Deco 20's female portrait landscape Newlyn oil painting
By Harold Harvey
Located in London, GB
A superb portrait oil painting by noted British Newlyn school artist Harold Harvey. Painted in 1922 the sitter is Clara Matthews. A full length portrait, Clara is set in a landscape and holding a rose. In several of Harvey's portraits his female sitters...
Category

1920s Art Deco Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Young Woman at the Seashore - British Victorian art oil painting
By William Edward Frost
Located in London, GB
This beautiful oil painting on canvas dates to circa 1840 and is by British Victorian artist William Edward Frost who was noted for his depiction of nudes and feminine beauty. The ov...
Category

19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

You May Also Like

19th century English portrait of a young girl with her pet spaniel in landscape
Located in Woodbury, CT
This enchanting early 19th-century portrait of a young girl in a pastoral landscape, attributed to the esteemed English portraitist Margaret Carpenter, is a rare and captivating exam...
Category

1840s Victorian Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

English 19th century portrait of the Clipper ship Crescent at sea in full sail
By John Lynn
Located in Woodbury, CT
English 19th century portrait of the Clipper ship Crescent in full sail. Acquiring a 19th-century English portrait of a clipper ship is more than just adding a painting to your coll...
Category

1850s Victorian Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique Victorian English Oil Portrait Of A Girl With A Pink Head Scarf
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: English School, late 19th/ early 20th century. The painting came from a large collection of works by one artist. A very few of them are signed what looks to be 'F. Wa...
Category

Late 19th Century Victorian Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil

Woman in Harvest Fields Next to Coastal Seascape Victorian Oil Painting canvas
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Harvest Workers English School, 19th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 24 x 16.5 inches provenance: from a collection in England condition: very good and sound condition
Category

19th Century Victorian Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Central park Moreno Pincas Contemporary art oil painting nature portrait NY
By Moreno Pincas
Located in Paris, FR
Moreno PINCAS depicts life. Noisy, agitated. With a critical and tender eye, he sketches existence as if it were a play and each time tells us a new story made up of meetings and liv...
Category

2010s Contemporary Landscape Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Mermaid Moreno Pincas Contemporary art oil painting colour fish portrait sea
By Moreno Pincas
Located in Paris, FR
Moreno PINCAS depicts life. Noisy, agitated. With a critical and tender eye, he sketches existence as if it were a play and each time tells us a new story made up of meetings and liv...
Category

2010s Contemporary Landscape Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Recently Viewed

View All