Jane Maria Bowkett Art

Colin Ruffell is an English painter of interiors, cityscapes, and many other unique subjects. This bold and evocative 1970s painting by English artist Colin Ruffell captures a nosta...

"Allan Water, Stirling" by F. E. Jamieson (British 1895-1950) signed, lower corner oil painting on canvas, framed canvas: 16 x 24 inches framed: 21.5 x 29 inches Fine quality antiqu...

The Guildhall, Worcester English School, mid 20th century indistinctly signed verso oil on canvas canvas: 20 x 24 inches provenance: private collection, UK condition: very good and sound condition The Worcester Guildhall was originally built as a meeting place for Worcester merchants around 1227. As with many other guildhalls, it became the centre for civic administration, a role it maintained after the merchant guild had disappeared. The present Worcester Guildhall is a superb Queen Anne building, begun in 1722 by Thomas White, a pupil of Sir Christopher Wren. White was badly paid for his efforts, and he died in poverty in 1738, bestowing the money he was owed on the Worcester Royal Infirmary. The city finally paid its debt in 1753. The exterior of the Guildhall is brick, dressed with stone. White himself is said to have carved the figure of Queen Anne over the entry, as well as those of Charles I and II, a reminder of the city's long history of royal support. The interior is superb, boasting exceptional period decoration. The Tourist Information Centre is now located in the Guildhall. HISTORY In 1227 Henry III granted the citizens of Worcester a royal charter granting them the right to establish a guild of merchants. The guild was responsible for controlling trade in the city, but their meeting place gradually became the main centre of administration for city government and acted as a courthouse. So, in effect, the Guildhall was the town hall, and though the city guilds have long since vanished, the Guildhall name lives on. The medieval guild merchants would not recognise the building that faces onto High Street now. Their guildhall was a large timber-framed building, occupying the same site, with a piazza for shops fronting the street, courts of justice at each end, and a prison to the north of the building. Part of the prison was a cell called 'the peephole', which gained a notorious reputation. There was a gaoler's house, and attached to it an alehouse from which the gaoler sold ale at extremely high prices to any prisoner who could afford the cost. In 1717 the city administration decided on a new Guildhall, and they knew just who to call; upon to build it. Thomas White was not an architect in the way we think of it today, but a stonemason. In 1705 he had carved a statue of Queen Anne to stand in front of the medieval Guildhall and was made a Freeman of the City. The total cost of the fashionable new red-brick building was £3727. The Corporation only put forward £800, and the rest had to be raised by public subscription. The centre section of the new Guildhall was finished by 1724 and has remained almost unchanged since then. The central facade is a wonderful example of early Georgian style, with three bays flanked by Corinthian pillars. Over the entrance is a huge carving incorporating the Hanoverian royal arms. White's earlier statue of Queen Anne was placed in a niche over the door, and on either side were statues of Charles I, depicted holding a church, and Charles II, with an orb and royal sceptre. On the rooftop are figures of Labour, Peace, Justice, Plenty, and Chastisement. North and south wings were added within a few years of the central block. The south wing was used as a judge's lodging when the assizes were taking place, but throughout the rest of the year it housed a coffee shop. The most striking external feature of the Guildhall is a set of iron gates...

This early 20th-century oil painting by British artist David Bates (1840-1921) depicts a rural view in Capel Curig, North Wales. Bates was an accomplished landscape painter who often...

"The Loch Keepers Cottage" by F. E. Jamieson (British 1895-1950) signed, lower corner oil painting on canvas, framed canvas: 16 x 24 inches framed: 20 x 28 inches Fine quality antiq...

Off the Harbour by William Henry Williamson (British 1820-1883) signed and dated 1874 oil painting on canvas, framed canvas: 12 x 18 inches fr...

This idyllic late 19th-century oil painting by English artist Edward William Cooke RA (1811-1880) depicts a west-country cove with two cottages, donkeys, figures, and fishing boats. Cooke was a highly renowned painter of marine scenes and landscapes who exhibited extensively at London’s Royal Academy. From our elevated vantage point, the view extends between two quaint cottages and across the beach before sweeping around the sandy coastline. Crystalline waters lap the shore, where moored craft rest. It’s an accomplished rendering of a challenging composition. It’s enhanced by trees, which essentially ‘frame’ the right side, while a wooded track provides interest on the left. Cooke was a keen admirer of the Dutch old masters, and the spirit of the Golden Age underpins this splendid work. In diaries, he recorded how he travelled by donkey to access elevated spots in the southwest, so it’s conceivable that he did so here. In his catalogue raisonné, it lists a work from the same year titled ‘Bay with Donkeys’. Born in Pentonville, London, Cooke was raised in the company of accomplished artists as both his father, George Cooke (1781-1834), and his uncle, William Bernard Cooke (1778-1855), were engravers. As such, they were associated with a circle of Victorian painters who aided Cooke’s early development. These included the highly regarded marine painter Clarkson Frederick Stanfield RA RBA (1793-1867), who provided frequent advice and inspiration. Indeed, as a teenager, Cooke produced numerous drawings after Stanfield’s works. A precocious talent, by the age of nine, he was already displaying an advanced understanding of engraving, particularly for ships, coupled with a natural, seemingly in-built skill as a draughtsman. Many of his early drawings depict pastoral landscapes after the masters, such as Nicolaes Berchem (1620-1683), Paulus Potter (1625-1654), and Karel Dujardin (1626-1678). In an extraordinary turn of events, in 1820, his advanced abilities led to his first commission when he provided botanical illustrations for John Loudon's 'Encyclopaedia of Plants’. These were followed by drawings published in the 'Botanical Cabinet...

"Allan Water" by F. E. Jamieson (British 1895-1950) signed, lower corner oil painting on canvas, framed canvas: 16 x 24 inches framed: 21 x 29 inches Fine quality antique oil painting by the much admired and celebrated British artist F. E. Jamieson (1895-1950). The painting is signed by Jamieson to the lower corner. The painting captures this beautifully romantic view of the Highlands, titled verso as being 'Allan Water', which is a very fine river in central Scotland famed for its trout and Salmon fishing today. The painting has the bonus of capturing the Bridge of Allan...

Trying on the Latest Dress French School, circa 1800 oil painting on canvas, unframed canvas: 19 x 24 inches the painting is in overall very good and sound condition provenance: priv...

Francesc Gironés (1904-1997) - Surrealist scene - Oil canvas Oil measures 38x46 cm. Frame measures 47x55 cm. Francesc Gironés was a painter from Poblenou about whom little is known,...

"Loch Lomond" by F. E. Jamieson (British 1895-1950) signed lower corner inscribed verso oil painting on canvas, framed canvas: 12 x 20 inches frame: 15.5 x 23.5 inches Fine qualit...

This witty early 20th-century oil painting by British artist Edgar Bundy ARA RI RBA (1862-1922) depicts a young country woman visiting the home of her wealthy relatives, to much dism...