Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title:
Scottish Highland Cattle Bulls Country Landscape Watercolour 1936
Artist: L W Rowe, 20th century
Medium: watercolour on paper, unframed
Size: 7 x 9.75 height x width in inches
Signature: signed lower left, L W Rowe
Date: dated lower right, 21-10-36
Stamped verso: no stamp visible from the images provided
Provenance: private collection
Condition: fair to good vintage condition. The sheet shows age toning, foxing, surface marks, handling wear and visible edge wear. There are losses, tears and old adhesive / mount marks to the reverse, particularly around the edges and corners. The painted image remains attractive, clear and highly decorative.
Description:
A charming signed watercolour by L W Rowe, dated 21-10-36, depicting two Highland cattle standing in a rural landscape. The cattle are shown in profile beneath bare trees, with soft fields, a pale path and distant countryside beyond. Their long horns, shaggy coats and strong silhouettes make them immediately recognisable as Highland cattle, giving the work excellent decorative and collectable appeal.
The painting is especially attractive for its earthy palette and gentle pastoral atmosphere. The artist uses warm browns, ochres and deep umber tones to describe the animals’ coats, contrasting them with soft greens, muted greys and pale blue washes in the surrounding landscape. The darker Highland bull to the right gives the composition weight, while the warmer russet animal to the left introduces richness and texture.
The handling is loose but observant, with the cattle carefully placed within a quiet countryside setting. The trees and background are painted with light, atmospheric washes, allowing the animals to remain the clear focus of the work. The date of 1936 gives the piece additional period interest, while the signed lower-left inscription helps distinguish it from a purely anonymous animal study.
Highland cattle remain a highly popular subject in British and Scottish art, particularly for collectors drawn to rural landscapes, country house interiors, animal paintings, farming scenes and traditional countryside subjects. This watercolour would work especially well in a country home, kitchen, hallway, study, boot room or gallery wall of animal and landscape works.
The sheet has visible age-related wear, including toning, foxing, edge losses, tears and old adhesive marks to the reverse, all consistent with a vintage work on paper. Despite this, the painted image remains appealing and decorative. Unframed and ready for sympathetic mounting, this is a characterful 1930s Highland cattle watercolour...
Category
Mid-20th Century French School Paintings
