William Luker Sr.

19th Century landscape oil painting of sheep in a Sussex lane

1875

Hubert Thornley British, (exh. 1858 -1898) Ships at Moonlight, Rochester Oil on canvas, indistinctly signed Image size: 13.5 inches x 11.5 inches Size including frame: 19.5 inches x ...

Charles Jones British, (1836-1892) Sheep Resting Oil on canvas, signed with monogram & dated 1877, further inscribed verso Image size: 35 inches x 59 inches Size including frame: 47 inches x 71 inches Exhibition Size Painting A fantastic exhibition sized landscape painting of sheep on a cliff top by the coast by Charles ‘Sheep’ Jones. At the time he produced this painting, Jones was living at Heathercroft, Balham Hill in London. Given the size and quality of the work it was most likely an exhibition piece. The topography and landscape suggest that this is the Dorset coast, one of his favourite places to paint. Charles Jones was an animal painter who was born in Stepney, London in 1836. He was the son of the artist Samuel John Egbert Jones (1797-1861) and Dinah Jones. He lived with his parents and 9 siblings in Mile End and was a pupil of his father. In September 1859, he married Frances Rosalinda Downe, who was born in America. His son Arthur Bertram Loud (1863-1930) also became an artist. They lived at 12 Hayes Place, Lisson Grove from where he made his debut in London at the Royal Academy in 1861. He also exhibited at the British Institution, Suffolk Street, New Watercolour Society, Royal Institute of Oil Painters and the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours. By 1867, he had become a successful artist and they had moved to 7 Paragon Place, Brixton Hill. From 1874 he lived at Heathercroft, Balham Hill where he spent the rest of his life. Jones became well known for specialising in paintings of sheep, cattle and deer in landscape settings. He spent his time travelling around visiting areas such as Devon, Dorset, Kent, Sussex and the Highlands. However, it is for his skilful painting of sheep that he is perhaps best known, and for which earned him the nickname of ‘Sheep’ Jones. As well as the major London galleries, he also exhibited provincially at various locations including: the Royal Cambrian Academy where he was elected a member in 1886, the Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts, Manchester City Art Gallery, Royal Hibernian Academy, Royal Society of British Artists, Birmingham and the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. Some of the smaller more intimate galleries he exhibited at were Arthur Tooth & Sons and Thomas...

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...

This mid-19th-century oil painting attributed to British artist William Adolphus Knell (1805-1875) depicts a sailing yacht before a Mediterranean coastline. Knell was one of the lead...