James Archer

Still Life with Summer Fruits - 19th Century Victorian Oil Painting

circa 1890

‘The Fortress of Charlemont’ by George Clarkson Stanfield (1828-1878). The painting – which depicts the 16th century stronghold built by Emperor Charles V at the French town of Giv...

‘On the Conwy, North Wales’ by Charles Smith (1841-1917) The painting is signed by the artist and dated 1869 in which year it was exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists a...

‘A Day in the Country’ by William Frederick Witherington R.A. (1785-1865). The painting – which depicts a group of Victorian figures on a summer’s day before an extensive landscape ...

‘News from the Front’ by Frederick Goodall R.A. H.R.I. (1822-1904). The painting – which depicts a diverse cross-section of Victorian figures gathered outside a post office as they...

Item is in excellent condition and has only been displayed in a gallery setting. Item includes frame; framed dimensions are approximately 38 x 33 inches. Cornelis le Mair is truly a renaissance man, encompassing all disciplines of the arts. He enjoys painting, drawing, writing, architecture, sculpture, and interior design. Le Mair was born in Eindhoven, The Netherlands in 1944. He began drawing and painting at the young age of five and while in kindergarten, he was often made to show his paintings in other classes even though he was shy about doing so. “When I could not play outside because of bad weather, I would sit in my bedroom and would draw.” His early art studies were widely influenced by the Rembrandt exhibit in the Rijksmuseum (1956) that he attended with his father. There le Mair was inspired by the Old Masters and “the desire to unravel all the mysteries hidden under the cracked varnish” began. Already having painted a lifesize copy of “The Nightwatch” on the wall of his bedroom, le Mair was continually driven by the Rembrandt exhibit. He began to experiment with resins, pigments and oils in order to hone and perfect the technique of the old masters. He studied drawings and paintings and early on developed the feeling of color and composition. After completing high school, he worked for a short period as a designer of woven fabrics. Although his heart desired to paint, he enjoyed having a pencil and brush in hand and a case full of art books and says, “This treasure of inspiring information took me further on track to the traditional trade.” At this same time, le Mair’s artistic endeavors led him to learn the art of music. First learning to play the guitar from friends, he began performing at youth centers. This love of music expanded into him learning to play the mandolin, turning lye, banjo, and bagpipes. Just after his eighteenth birthday, le Mair was accepted into military service where his lack of conforming led him to a maximum solitary confinement sentence. After a month in training, the army physician and le Mair agreed that he was born to be an artist and released le Mair from military services. Once he returned home, with the encouragement from his parents, le Mair began his art schooling at the Art Academy (Kustacademie) in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. There he found that the school was geared for modernism and after painting a portrait of a fellow classmate, his teachers advised le Mair to look for a school where the traditional ideas were still taught. Longing to study the classical arts, he applied and was accepted to the Academy of Fine Arts (Koninklijke Kunstacademie) in Antwerp, Belgium in 1965. After studying under Professor Victor Dolphijn, le Mair graduated cum laude in portrait and figure paintings in 1968. He was then promoted to study as a student of the Higher Institute, a structure at a higher university level where he studied under Rik Slabbinck...

Alfred Arthur Brunel de Neuville French, (1852-1941) Still Life of Fruit in a Basket Oil on canvas, signed Image size: 14.5 inches x 17.5 inches Size including frame: 23.25 inches x ...

Oliver Clare British, (1853-1927) Still Life of Apples, Grapes & Other Fruit Oil on canvas, signed Image size: 17.5 inches x 13.5 inches Size including frame: 23.5 inches x 19.5 inches A lovely still life painting of fruit by Oliver Clare. Apples, black grapes and plums can be seen together with a strawberry and gooseberries. The fruit is shown lying amongst foliage and trailing ivy on a woodland bank. Oliver Clare was born in Birmingham in 1853, the son of the flower artist George Clare (1839-1890) and his wife Elizabeth Bowen. His brother Vincent Clare (1856-1917) also became an artist and both would have received tuition from their father who influenced their style and subject matter. At the age of 18 he enlisted as a soldier in the Kings Own regiment, but gave this up to become a full time artist. Like his father, Clare specialised in still life paintings, containing fruit and garden flowers, often on mossy banks. Sometime after 1871, he moved to London where he married Emma Mary Webb...

William Henry Hunt 1790 - 1864 Bird's Nest Oil on canvas Image size: 11½ x 8⅜ inches William Henry Hunt was a painter and watercolourist of fruit and flowers, landscapes and rust...