Jane Dowling

Peter Greenham was a distinguished figurative painter of portraits, landscapes and incidents from domestic life. His work was both sensitive and intelligent and like himself, without showiness or pretension. He was the keeper of the Royal Academy Schools and a popular figure who taught many well-known artists including Martin Yeoman, Peter Kuhfeld, Edmund Fairfax-Lucy and Jane Corsellis. Greenham was born in Streatham and educated at Dulwich before studying English at Magdalen College, Oxford, followed by fine art at the Byam Shaw School of Art in Kensington from 1936–39 under the supervision of Ernest Jackson. After leaving Byam Shaw, he became a schoolmaster at Magdalen College School, Oxford and was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1951 and a Royal Academician in 1960. In 1964, he succeeded Sir Henry Rushbury as Keeper of the Royal Academy Schools, a position he held with distinction until his retirement in 1985. The Keeper has the responsibility of running the RA Schools and Greenham showed himself to have great sympathy and understanding for his students. In retirement, he was able to concentrate entirely on his painting and tended to paint places he knew well such as the Norfolk coast, Northumberland, Oxfordshire and Annecy as well as his wife, the painter Jane Dowling and his children. Among the people he has painted are HRH Queen Elizabeth II, Sir Isaiah Berlin, Professor Leonie Gombrich, Lady Bonham-Carter, Dr. F R Leavis and Lord Hailsham. His portraits of Jane and Father D'Arcy and Life Class at Byam Shaw School were bought under the terms of the Chantrey Bequest for the Tate Gallery. He is the author of a book on Velasquez. Greenham and Jane Dowling were given a retrospective touring exhibition under the sponsorship of the Arts Council and the Norwich School of Art from 1984–85 and Greenham had a Retrospective at the Ashmolean in 1989 to celebrate his 80th birthday.

Painting is an art form that has spanned innumerable cultures, with artists using the medium to tell stories, explore and communicate ideas and express themselves. To bring abstract paintings, landscape paintings, still-life paintings and other original paintings into your home is to celebrate and share in the long tradition of this discipline.

When we look at paintings, particularly those that originated in the past, we learn about history, other cultures and countries of the world. Like every other work of art, paintings — whether they are contemporary creations or works that were made during the 19th century — can often help us clearly see and understand the world around us in a meaningful and interesting way.

Cave walls were the canvases for what were arguably the world’s first landscape paintings, which depict natural scenery through art. Portrait paintings and drawings, which, along with sculpture, were how someone’s appearance was recorded prior to the advent of photography, are at least as old as Ancient Egypt. In the Netherlands, landscapes were a major theme for painters as early as the 1500s. Later, artists in Greece, Rome and elsewhere created vast wall paintings to decorate stately homes, churches and tombs.

Today, creating a wall of art is a wonderful way to enhance your space, showcase beautiful pieces and tie an interior design together.

No matter your preference, whether you favor Post-Impressionist paintings, animal paintings, Surrealism, Pop art or another movement or specific period, arranging art on a blank wall allows you to evoke emotions in a room while also showing off your tastes and interests. A symmetrical wall arrangement may comprise a grid of four to six pieces or, for an odd number of works, a horizontal row. Asymmetrical arrangements, which may be small clusters of art or large, salon-style gallery walls, have a more collected and eclectic feel.

Download the 1stDibs app, which includes a handy “View on Wall” feature that allows you to see how a particular artwork will look on a particular wall, and read about how to arrange wall art. And if you’re searching for the perfect palette for your interior design project, what better place to turn than to the art world’s masters of color? 

On 1stDibs, you’ll find an expansive collection of paintings and other fine art for your home or office. Browse abstract paintings, portrait paintings, paintings by emerging artists and more today.