Benton Fine Art

***PLEASE NOTE: EACH PAINTING INCLUDING THE FRAME MEASURES 13 INCHES X 16 INCHES*** Oliver Clare British, (1853-1927) Still Life of Fruit & Still Life of Flowers Oil on canvas, pair, both signed & dated ‘92 Image size: 6 inches x 9 inches (each) Size including frame: 13 inches x 16 inches (each) An appealing pair of still life paintings by Oliver Clare. The first painting shows primroses and lilac blossom next to a red berry. In the second, damsons can be seen next to apples and a strawberry. 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...

Letitia Marion Hamilton Irish, (1878-1964) Gateway, Semur Oil on canvas, signed, inscribed on verso 'Gateway, Semur by Letitia Marion Hamilton of Fonthill Palmerstown, Dublin’ Image size: 24 inches x 20 inches Size including frame: 33 inches x 29 inches A lovely painting of the town of Semur-en-Auxois, France by Letitia Marion Hamilton. The work with its airy lightness shows figures outside a grocers shop next to the Guillier Gate showing a glimpse of the central square of the famous medieval town. The use of white pigment in her colours applied in a thick impasto was a trademark of her work. Letitia Marion Hamilton was born in Dunboyne, County Meath on 30 July, 1878, the daughter of Charles Hamilton and Louisa Brooke. She came from a family of famous Irish women artists: her great-grandmother was Caroline Hamilton (1771-1861), her elder sister Eva Hamilton (1876-1960) was also a talented painter, and her cousin Rose Maynard Barton (1856-1929) was a townscape and watercolour artist. The family lived at Hamwood, Dunboyne, Meath in Ireland. She trained at the Metropolitan School of Art, Dublin alongside her sister Eva under Sir William Orpen (1878-1939) before attending the Slade School of Art where she was taught by Sir Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956). She made her debut at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1909 where she continued to exhibit regularly. In 1912, she was awarded a silver medal by the Dublin school and received another from the Board of Education National Competition. After the death of her father in 1913, she and her family moved to 40 Lower Dominick Street in Dublin, later living at Monasterevin, in Co. Kildare. By 1920, they had relocated to Font Hill in Palmerstown, Dublin. In the same year, Hamilton formed the Society of Dublin Painters together with Paul Henry, his wife Emily Grace Mitchell...

Franz Xavier Bergman Austrian (1861-1936) Bronze, signed ‘Nam Greb’ & ‘B’ in a vase. Height: 13½ inches Width: 7¾ inches Rare, large sized version of ‘Windy Day...

**PLEASE NOTE: EACH PAINTING INCLUDING THE FRAME MEASURES 19 INCHES X 23 INCHES** John Bates Noel British, (1870-1927) On the Avon & In the Berwin Valley Oil on canvas, pair, both signed, also signed & inscribed verso Image size: 12 inches x 16 inches (each) Size including frame: 19 inches x 23 inches (each) John Bates Noel was born John Noel Bates in Worcester in 1870. He was the son of the landscape artist David Bates (1840-1921) but later on changed his professional name to avoid confusion. The family lived in Worcestershire as well as in Birmingham and it was highly likely that he was encouraged and taught by his father as their subject matter and style bear similarities, although John’s compositions tend to be more fluid and looser. By the turn of the century Noel was living in Malvern where he also taught art. He specialised in painting the rugged landscapes in and around the West Midlands, Worcestershire and North Wales. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1893-1909 and at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists between 1892-1919. He also exhibited works at some of the major galleries of the time including the Manchester City Art Gallery and the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. The building in the painting 'On the Avon' is believed to be that of St Margaret's Church at Wolston in Warwickshire. The structures at the front of the church appear to be thatched hay ricks, which are similar to ones seen in an old postcard of the church seen from the river Avon...