JHBA_Newsletter 2010

gallery

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Looking ahead O

n our second anniversary James Harvey British Art is all set to become a truly family business with my wife, Flora, joining the gallery to help with the marketing and events. With her background in organising high profile banking events I am sure that she will bring a new energy and flair to our quiet corner of Chelsea. One of the first projects is to bring our mailing list into the 21st century with the aim of keeping clients informed predominately by email and through our recently updated website www.jamesharveybritishart.com.

Our Current mailing list stands at over two thousand names and is in desperate need of updating, so that we are able to keep those who are genuinely interested informed and streamline our postage by removing those who do not wish to be contacted. In an attempt to make the task of responding a little more appealing we will be giving away a Caroline Vernon watercolour – please take a few moments to complete the card and return to us. It is our intention to utilise email and web based mailings in the future and with this in mind we would be grateful to receive your email addresses.

Cover: John Mansfield Crealock (1871 – 1959)

The past eighteen months have undoubtedly been the most unpredictable of my twenty year career, but unlike previous recessions the art world has not been suddenly plunged into complete shut down and even in the darkest moments there was activity with notable sales being achieved particularly at the top end. Speculation that clients were seeing art investment as a safe haven were perhaps a little romantic but there were certainly clients who recognised that my particular area of the market represented good value. The beginning of the new decade has given me an optimism that despite the continued problems in the financial markets and general caution from clients that there are indeed some “green shoots” and perhaps more excitingly there does seem to be a genuine resurgence of interest in traditional art.

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n the next twelve months the gallery has a full programme that will showcase the spectrum of our stock. There will be a number of exhibitions, which are detailed more fully in this news letter, as well as quarterly gallery hangs that will focus on a particular discipline; the first of these will focus on portraiture. I hope that this news letter will whet your appetite and encourage you to visit the gallery.

Gallery Opening Hours As a husband and wife team we highly recommend telephoning prior to your visit so we can ensure we are available. The gallery is open to the public during the published times in this newsletter and on our website and at all other times we are willingly available by appointment. We live DERYH WKH JDOOHU\ DQG FDQ EH YHU\ ﾃ？[LEOH WR DFFRPPRGDWH PRVW UHTXHVWV We look forward to welcoming you to the gallery.

James Harvey

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This year Page

10 CHANGING FACES

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Portraits from 16 Century to 20th Century Exhibition: 4th – 14th May Monday to Friday: 10am – 6pm Any other time by appointment Page Page

4 A VERY ENGLISH

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Victorian Pictures Exhibition: 27th October – 12th November Monday to Friday: 10am – 6pm Any other time by appointment Page

26 TALLY HO! Sporting Pictures Exhibition: 17th – 30th November Monday to Friday: 10am – 6pm Any other time by appointment

16 TALES OF THE SEA Marine Paintings Exhibition: 6th – 16th July Monday to Friday: 10am – 6pm Any other time by appointment

30 CHRISTOPHER WOOD

GALLERY

7 JUDGE & ARTIST A collection of works by Edward Holroyd Pearce (1901 -1990) Private View: 8th June Exhibition: 9th – 18th June Monday to Friday: 10am – 6pm Saturday: 11 – 4pm Any other time by appointment

34 EN PLEIN AIR A collection of works by Alistair Erskine Private View: 6th October Exhibition: 7th – 15th October Monday to Friday 10am – 6pm Saturday: 11 – 4pm Any other time by appointment

TRADITION

Garden Watercolours of the Victorian age Private View: 18th May Exhibition: 19th – 28th May Monday to Friday: 10am – 6pm Saturday: 11 – 4pm Any other time by appointment

20 GREEN AND PLEASANT LAND British Landscapes Exhibition: 13th – 24th September Monday to Friday: 10am – 6pm Any other time by appointment

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37 CHRISTMAS EXHIBITION Exhibition: 8th – 21st December Monday to Friday: 10am – 6pm Any other time by appointment

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GARDEN WATERCOLOURS OF THE VICTORIAN AGE Private View: 18th May Exhibition: 19th – 28th May Monday to Friday: 10am – 6pm Saturday: 11 – 4pm Any other time by appointment

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uring the Chelsea Flower Show we will be holding our first exhibition of the most English of subjects, garden watercolours. The exhibition will celebrate the golden age of gardening, at a time when flamboyant herbaceous borders required an army of gardeners to maintain the perfection and vision of the gardens' owners. The development of a “school” of artists who dedicated their careers to record and document some of the most lavish gardens of the period stand as a historical document of the scale of gardening that has in all but a few cases disappeared. The illustration of the Gardens at Levens Hall in Cumbria by George Samuel Elgood is a fine example of the theatrical nature that inspired these artists.

The Exhibition will include works by the most celebrated of this School, most notably Helen Allingham, Beatrice Parsons, George Samuel Elgood.

Left: George Samuel Elgood (1851–1943)

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longside the selling exhibition, we have a very exciting loan exhibition of the work of Ernest Arthur Rowe that is being exhibited for the first time. The twenty watercolours are from the artist’s grandson Derrick Rowe, who has painstakingly researched the huge archive of his grandfather’s diaries and letters which has resulted in a wonderfully produced hardback book that will be of great interest to any collectors and gardeners alike and will be available for purchase during the exhibition.

Top: E.A.Rowe (1863–1922) N.F.S. Middle and bottom: Jabez Bligh (fl. 1863–1889)

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A COLLECTION OF WORKS BY EDWARD HOLROYD PEARCE (1901 – 1990) Private View: 8th June Exhibition: 9th – 18th June Monday to Friday: 10am – 6pm Saturday: 11 – 4pm Any other time by appointment

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he mantle of “talented amateur” is often used to describe artists who for whatever reason have not made selling their paintings their only means of financial survival. Our June exhibition is a fascinating example of such an artist. Lord Pearce of Sweethaws was a distinguished Law Lord, Lord Justice of Appeals and a privy councillor, whose talent as an artist was recognised from an early age but is only now being shown to a wider audience.

Pearce, a Law Lord, painter and collector was the son -in -law of the celebrated artist Bertram Priestman and friend and travelling companion of Edward Seago (1910 -1974). Their frequent trips as the painting trio, travelling in Seago’s Austin Seven, were a period of great productivity for the young Pearce and inspired him in the true tradition of 'en plein air' painting. Their days followed a very similar pattern – picnicking on the salt marshes, painting one picture before lunch and then a second in the afternoon.

Above: Brethorn from Wengen nursery slopes

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JUDGE & ARTIST

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he freshness and ease in which Pearce observes his subject and lays down his paint in such a spontaneous and confident manner is reflected in all his work. He is never daunted in his quest to capture the perfect land or seascape. His constant observation of the effects of light and the relationship of clouds, sea and snow in his composition are a continuing theme throughout his life. It is fitting that this exhibition coincides with the centenary of the birth of Edward Seago and will I am sure establish Pearce as an artistic name in his own right, elevating him above the rank of “talented amateur�.

Above: Sweethaws, Sussex Opposite, clockwise from top: Lugano; Alpine winter; Stoke Bay, Devon; On the Alde; Sweethaws, Sussex

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Changing faces PORTRAITS FROM 16TH CENTURY TO 20TH CENTURY Exhibition: 4th – 14th May Monday to Friday: 10am – 6pm Any other time by appointment

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uring the coming season we are changing the way we hang pictures in the gallery: rather than a mixture of subject matter we are going to do a series of Thematic Hangs, starting with Portraits and followed later in the season with Marines, Landscapes and finally Sporting Pictures.

Regular visitors will know that we have many more paintings in stock than we can reasonably hang at one time, so this is a way of ensuring that the full range of pictures in each category can be viewed simultaneously.

Some of the portraits which will comprise the first hang are illustrated here, and show just how broad a field this is. From the 16th century we will be showing the glamorous portrait by Cornelius Ketel of Edward Gill in his Italian half-armour, a classic example of the swagger high Elizabethan style painted at a time when national self-confidence was booming. The contrast of this with the deeply psychological and endearing portrait of Charles Beale by his wife Mary Beale, painted a century later, could hardly be more stark. But Restoration England was still enamoured of the courtly panache of the grand aristocracy, as the three-quarter length of the Duke of Lauderdale in his finery. Lauderdale was a member of the notorious CABAL which plotted and connived its way through politics at this date.

The 18th century in England was the high point of portraiture as domestic artists supplanted the exotic imports who had lead the way in the 16th and 17th centuries. We have two portraits by Thomas Hudson, teacher of Sir Joshua Reynolds, which most interestingly show the artist re-using the same studio props: richly carved chairs and a gilded consol table.

Opposite: Cornelius Ketel (1548 – 1616)

CHANGING FACES

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Opposite: Thomas Hudson (1701 – 1779) Top right: Henry Robert Moreland (1719 – 1797)

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eorge Morland was the enfant terrible of British art at the end of the 18th century: permanently in debt, usually drunk and blessed with a sublime talent which was dissipated in the cheap gin houses of Paddington.

His father was Henry Robert Morland, who painted him in our portrait as a studious youth before his career as a wastrel was under way. Morland’s contemporary Mather Brown, an American in London, executed the remarkable vigorous and free sketch of the critic and writer Anthony Pasquin, a man of acerbic wit much prone to vituperative controversy. He was also virtually single-handedly responsible for saving the details of the lives and works of the Irish artists of the 18th century, of whom we would know precious little had he not troubled to write so much down about them.

Jacob Thompson has slipped into almost complete obscurity for reasons that can only be ascribed to his provincial career. His portrait of the Maecenas-of-the-North Lord Lonsdale has a jewel-like exquisite finish and a rare understanding of character. Lonsdale had been the great patron of letters and the Arts in the Lake District, avid supporter of William Wordsworth and his friends, kindly landlord and generous benefactor.

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ritish portraiture in the 20th century shows a complete break with the styles and techniques of the Victorian age. John Crealock was born in 1871, in the middle of Victoria’s reign, but his portrait of 1912, “The Yellow Sofa” (illustrated on the cover) shows a new and more daring aesthetic which is being liberated by the revolutions of French Impressionism and its aftermath. Doris Zinkeisen is best known for her mannered (some would say affected) animal paintings: her portrait of Mrs Saunders Watson (see illustration on page 32), painted in 1937, is deeply rooted in the art-deco stylishness of its age: vivid use of colour and contrast, and direct in its approach are its hallmarks.

Above: John Michael Wright (1617 – 1694) Opposite, clockwise from top: Mather Brown (1761 – 1831), Jacob Thompson (1806 – 1879), Mary Beale (1633 – 1699), Henry Raeburn (1765 – 1823)

CHANGING FACES

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Tales of the Sea

MARINE PAINTINGS Exhibition: 6th – 16th July Monday to Friday: 10am – 6pm Any other time by appointment

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ritish marine paintings have always been central to our interests, and we always carry a choice stock by the leading artists of the Georgian age. This is an area where collecting interest has waned rather in the last 20 years, with the result that there are outstanding examples of the better painters available in the market for what historically seem to us to be reasonable prices.

The earliest painting of our Marine Hang is “King William III off the coast of Ireland” which depicts the approach of the fleet towards Carrickfergus, with the King in the richly carved Royal Yacht, in June 1690. The depiction of the coast is largely fanciful rather than topographically precise, but the ships themselves are beautifully observed. Thomas Patch was a controversial figure in the expatriate community of British artists in Italy in the middle of the 18th century. Often in trouble with the civic and religious authorities, he nevertheless produced a series of views of the Italian coast and the major cities which are of substantial historical interest. His rare signed port view (presumably of Livorno) owes something to

the work of Vernet in its general composition, but is entirely Patch in its idiosyncratic depiction of the sailors and fishermen on the quayside.

Both Francis Swaine and John Cleveley are part of the group of British native painters who assumed the mantle of William Van De Velde after the latter’s death and the closure of his prolific studio in the early years of the 18th century. Swaine’s ship-portrait of the “Royal Sovereign” in full sail and firing a salute shows the artist at his vigorous best, and on a larger scale than many of his usual paintings. The John Cleveley of two frigates painted in the same decade as the Swaine shows an awareness of continental models in its use of a brighter palette and generally higher tonality; it is of exceptionally fine quality. Thomas Luny was trained in London by Francis Holman, and has often been referred to as “The Sailors’ Painter”, for he forsook his painting career to volunteer to fight in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic crisis of the 1790’s. His early work (our “Privateer Cutter off the Downs” was his first ever exhibition at the Royal Academy in 1779)

TALES OF THE SEA

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is still fully Georgian in its style and appearance. His later work, in the 19th century, is rather looser in execution and more perfunctory in finish – the result of his being invalided out of the Service with arthritis. By the end of his career his daughter was having to tie brushes to his wrists so that he could paint, having lost the use of his fingers.

Continuing the tradition of contemporary marine painting Steven Dews who was born in 1949 is a reminder of the length of time that British Art has been dedicated to depicting marine subjects. His meticulous and colourful portraits of racing yachts, from the Golden Age of offshore racing, find a ready and enthusiastic following among sailors both in the UK and abroad, especially on the Eastern Seaboard of the USA. He is without doubt the leading artist of his generation and his celebrated picture of the Regatta of Fife yachts held on the Clyde in 1998 is an illustration of his mastery of his subject.

Opening spread: Steven Dews (b.1949) Opposite: William van der Hagen (fl. 1720 – 1745) Above: Thomas Luny (1759 – 1837)

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GREEN and PLEASANT

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BRITISH LANDSCAPES Exhibition: 13th – 24th September Monday to Friday: 10am – 6pm Any other time by appointment

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GREEN AND PLEASANT LAND

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or our landscape Hang we will be concentrating on British topography.

There had been a national interest in landscape painting during the 17th century, but the demand from the market had largely been supplied by immigrant Netherlandish painters from artists like Alexander Keirinckx in the early years of the century to Jan Griffier and Hendrick Danckerts at the end.

A national school of landscape painting in truth derives from the work of George Lambert, a contemporary and friend of William Hogarth, in the 1730s and 1740s. As the century progressed there grew up a national interest in the “picturesque and sublime” which encouraged artists to remove themselves from their studios and to sketch the landscape in the open air. Many artists made the journey to the Lake District “in search of the sublime”, and we have here a landscape by the Royal Academist and assiduous diarist Joseph Farington from the end of the 18th century which depicts a waterfall and rocks in that area.

Previous page: William George Jennings (1763 – 1854) Opposite detail and above: Arthur Devis (1711 – 1787)

Other parts of the country were soon being depicted in oil, too, and we have an interesting a rare series of topographical views, including Petersfield in Hampshire circa 1780 by Abraham Pether, which shows the wretched state of the roads (little more than a muddy track) on what was then, and still is today, a main artery to Portsmouth and the southwest from London. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy and retains its original frame. Views of Wales are relatively rare in the 18th century, and our view of Neath by Arthur William Devis (son of the painter of conversation pieces, Arthur Devis) is a previously unpublished addition to his oeuvre.

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e seems to have spent some time in South Wales, for there are two other oil-painting landscapes of Neath in the National Gallery of Wales, as well as numerous watercolour drawings.

The View of Westhamble in Surrey by George Jennings of 1803 is a rare example of the work of this talented amateur whose work starts as straightforward topographical painting, but which swiftly developed under the influence of his friend and instructor John Constable RA into a dashing and free sketchy technique.

From the Victorian age, when the demand from the burgeoning middle class lead to an explosion in the volume of landscapes being produced, we are exhibiting views of Bransford Bridge in Worcestershire painted in 1870 by Benjamin Williams Leader as well as the spectacular View near Windermere by John Atkinson Grimshaw, a pre-Raphaelite landscape painted five years earlier. The discovery of Australia in the late 18th century, and the rapid development of a colony there, gave rise to a demand for a visual record of the scenery and exotic aspects of life there.

The landscape of the Macdonald River in New South Wales (North-west of Sydney) is a recent discovery of a painting by Conrad Martens, the most important and skilled landscapist to visit Australia up to this date (circa 1850). The artist has included a picture of himself sketching in the right corner, accompanied by an aborigine man. Previously wholly unrecorded, this picture is in quite pristine condition in its original frame. Amusingly, a previous owner was under the impression that it had been painted by one “N Swales” on account of the inscription on the reverse!

Above: Abraham Pether (1756 – 1812) Oppoite top: B. W. Leader (1831 – 1923) Opposite bottom: Conrad Martens (1801 – 1878)

GREEN AND PLEASANT LAND

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Tally-ho!

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SPORTING PICTURES Exhibition: 17th – 30th November Monday to Friday: 10am – 6pm Any other time by appointment

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ur earliest painting in the Hang of sporting paintings is almost certainly our finest sporting picture. The son of a banker, James Seymour seems to have been self-taught, and his pictures are evocative of an age long past of sporting squires and a countryside delightfully free of barbed wire and ribbon development. The large equestrian portrait of George Burrows, which is signed and dated 1746, is a masterpiece of precise drawing and accurate brushwork in Seymour’s highly idiosyncratic style. In a perfect state of preservation it retains its spectacular carved and gilt George II frame.

Opposite: John Nost Sartorius (1759 – 1828) Above: James Seymour (1702 – 1752)

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he Sartorius family of painters was large and prolific, and our present hanging will include at least six pictures by members, principally John Nost Sartorius who painted the delightful large Hunt in Full Cry as well as the set of four hunting scenes. His work has been popular with rural sportsmen since the day they were painted, though the family seem to have benefited little from the prodigious productivity and commercial success: none of them died prosperous, still less rich. Shooting is as subject that always has great appeal and is wonderfully represented in this very rare set of four oils on panel by Charles Towne. Thomas Stringer of Knutsford was a contemporary of the elder Francis Sartorius, and their work has often been confused, not least because of the similarity of their initials in monogram. Stringer’s work is concentrated on his native county with occasional forays into Shropshire and Lancashire, whereas Sartorius seems to have been itinerant throughout the British Isles. Our hang will include the charming and somewhat eccentric portrait of a gentleman

Above: Henry Allen Snr (1785 – 1851)

TALLY HO!

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on his bay hunter exercising a couple of hounds. The artist has chosen to depict the hounds half disappeared into a bush, so only their hind quarters and sterns are visible.

From the nineteenth century there are two interesting horse-racing paintings: one a view of the start of the 1848 St Leger, where all the jockeys’ silks and the horses are readily identifiable. This is by the prolific Henry Alken Snr, a scion of another large family of sporting painters whose career covers the whole of the 19th century. The 1845 Steeplechase painting is an unusually ambitious and large painting by John Frederick Herring Jnr, son of the similarly named father by whom he was taught and for whom he worked early in his career. This picture dates from his early independence from his father’s studio, and is amongst his most accomplished works.

Above: Charles Towne (1763 – 1842)

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VICTORIAN PICTURES Exhibition: 27th October – 12th November Monday to Friday: 10am – 6pm Any other time by appointment

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ince Christopher’s premature death I have been involved in a caretaking role of his gallery and during this time it became apparent how much of an institution Christopher was in the Victorian field. A day never passes without several internet inquiries, numerous telephone calls from old clients or devotees of his books or requests for Christopher to lecture and it is for this reason that with the blessing and encouragement of Christopher’s family the gallery that bore his name will continue to trade alongside my gallery. I am delighted to be reoffering an exceptional watercolour by Robert Barnes, called the Merry-Go-Round, which as the illustration on page 37 shows is a romantic depiction of winter in the Victorian age and will be included in our Christmas exhibition.

The obituaries for Christopher, in both The Times and The Daily Telegraph are a moving tribute to a remarkable man, whose career and achievements are widely documented. The legacy he leaves through his writing and his generous gift of his library to the Watts Museum will ensure that he will be remembered by future generations in the context of his beloved subject. Perhaps Christopher’s greatest talent was his ability and willingness to share his knowledge. Like many others, I was a very grateful recipient of his infectious passion for all things Victorian and I count myself very fortunate to have worked for Christopher in his Motcomb Street Gallery and at Mallett.

Opposite top: John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836 – 1893) Opposite bottom: Simeon Solomon (1840 – 1905)

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Above: George Owen Wynne-Apperley (1884 – 1960)

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is knowledge and personality were the backbone of his business and it is with very great respect and in trepidation that we look to the future and the hope that Christopher’s achievements as an art dealer can live on through the continuation of the Christopher Wood Gallery. Like many sole traders Christopher never attached much importance or value to the name over the gallery door - certainly the gallery without Christopher will be a very different place, but we hope to keep alive Christopher’s vision.

The 19th century pictures that Christopher was so well known for will be integrated into my predominately 18th century stock and will be included in the various gallery hangs throughout the year, with the hope that over the next eighteen months I will be able to build a collection of pictures worthy of Christopher’s name

Above: Doris Zinkeisen (1898 – 1991)

for a dedicated Victorian exhibition. In our stock at the moment we have an early Atkinson Grimshaw in his early Pre-Raphaelite style, which is perhaps not as familiar and easily recognisable as his moonlit dock scenes, however clearly demonstrates Grimshaw’s spectrum and academic approach to his subjects of this period. We will also include in our May portrait Hang a magnificent self portrait of the artist George Owen Wynne Apperly. This very studious depiction of the artists is perhaps more remarkable having been drawn in watercolour rather than oil. Finally, in this section, is a view of Bransford Bridge in Worcestershire by one of the most celebrated artists of the period Benjamin William Leader. This small scale oil has a charm and quality which is not always demonstrated in Leader’s larger, more pedestrian compositions.

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MASTERPIECE 2010 | LONDON Preview: 23rd June 11am – 10pm 24th June (including Gala) 11am – 10pm Fair: 25th – 29th June 11am – 8pm

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Above: Alfred Munnings (1878 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1959)

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asterpiece London will take place from 24 to 29 June at the former Chelsea Barracks in central London and is set to be one of the most exciting international events to occur in the capital for years. Representing an inter-disciplinary fusion of traditional and modern, old and new, Masterpiece London will bring together not only the finest of the fine and decorative arts, but also the best of wines, classic cars, jewellery and contemporary design.

Masterpiece London is delighted to be working with Urban Caprice to create an exceptional culinary and social experience for its discerning and distinguished clientele. Visitors will be able to experience fine food from the eminent names of Le Caprice, Scottâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Harryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bar and Bam-Bou, all under one roof for the very first time.

Offering the ultimate in elegance, quality, luxury and sophistication, Masterpiece London will be a truly exceptional experience. The worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top collectors, institutions and connoisseurs will not miss this unique opportunity to purchase some of the finest pieces on the market from the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foremost galleries.

I hope that clients will take the opportunity of visiting London during the fair and continuing the tradition of London being a centre of culture and excellence for the fine and decorative arts. I will be mailing complimentary tickets for the fair to any clients who would like them. Please register your interest by emailing flora@jhba.co.uk â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with a subject heading â&#x20AC;&#x153;Masterpiece Ticketsâ&#x20AC;?.

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En plein air

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A COLLECTION OF WORKS BY ALISTAIR ERSKINE (b.1959) Private View: 6th October Exhibition: 7th – 15th October Monday to Friday 10am – 6pm Saturday: 11 – 4pm Any other time by appointment

Opposite: Chidham Creek, Bosham Above: Regatta at Salcombe

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orn in 1959 ALISTAIR JOHN ERSKINE has spent his working life as a freelance decorative artist. Working on a wide range of conventional and contemporary projects, he has worked alongside many internationally renowned designers such as Dudley Poplak, Veere Grenney, Gabhan O’Keeffe, David Laws, Guy Oliver, Colefax & Fowler, Sophie Stonor, Nina Campbell, Nicholas Haslam, and Christophe Gollut. The Gallery is delighted to be presenting his first solo exhibition in October in which he will be showing a group of pictures that represent a period of work from 1979 to the present day all being seen for the first time.

Brought up in Dorset and Hampshire much of Alistair’s inspiration comes from his travels on family holidays in the West Country, East Anglia, France and Scotland. Although not religious himself, his family background has connections with the Scottish Episcopal and Anglican church and it is perhaps not surprising that John Constable’s simple ‘rapture before nature’ and pantheistic viewpoint, seems to resonate with his own motivation. He is most drawn to working as directly as possible from nature – as Wordsworth described his desire to capture visual beauty that has ‘no need of a remoter charm by thought supplied’.

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nspired by the ‘en plein air’ oil sketches of Constable, Corot, Frederic Leighton and William Nicholson his own work also has links to the Scottish colourists sharing their interest in their more intense extraction of colour through tonal planning and outline. When attempting to convey the poetry of nature through painting he has a scientific or analytical approach, a mindset perhaps initiated by the typographic design course where analysis of visual language was central. “I discovered that colour interest was relative or interactive, by working swiftly and with painterly extraction, I try to capture fleeting interaction of colour with colour and with light and composition. I aim for unaffected freshness.”

“My land and seascape paintings, always done ‘en plein air’, I try to convey mood or sense of place”.

Although human form plays little or no part in his paintings, he is conscious that landscape without reference to human habitation can lose meaning, so buildings or other simple man made effects are usually included in composition however simply expressed.

Alongside his land and seascapes his still life painting has a wonderful quality that are perhaps a little more highly worked than his landscapes but still retain the ‘moment’ of observation and in this discipline he is conscious of not overworking his subject and staying true to his ‘en plein air’ technique. This skill is carried through his wonderfully charming and very intimate watercolours and drawings.

Above: Nivelle Dordogne

CHRISTMAS EXHIBITION Exhibition Dates: 8th – 21st December Monday to Friday: 10am – 6pm Any other time by appointment

Above: Robert Barnes (fl. 1873 – 1893) Back cover: Sir William Beechy (1753 – 1839)

15 Langton Street, Chelsea, London SW10 0JL E: james@jhba.co.uk | W: jamesharveybritishart.com | T: +44 (0)20 7 352 0015