John Brett

Autumn Gold, Betws-Y-Coed, Late 19th Century Victorian British Oil

1831-1902

Oil on canvas Image size: 23 1/2 x 18 1/2 inches (60 x 47 cm) Original frame This moonlit view features many of the usual features of Sebastian Pether's work: a painterly river, mountain scenery and the incorporation of classical gothic ruins in an attractive though artificial style. The ruins in the foreground and city in the background have been painstakingly depicted in meticulous detail. On the bank in the foreground, and out on the river itself, we see three night fishermen silhouetted against the calm waters. The artist has cleverly balanced the light emanating from the moon, and the reflection of this light glistening on the river surface below, to create the mysterious atmosphere of the moonlit evening. Indeed, he has skilfully employed the strong use of chiaroscuro effects of light and shade in this painting so that the eye is drawn to the full moon as it illuminates the sky. It is undeniably a work of Romanticism, a style that was popular around the beginning of the nineteenth century. The Artist Sebastian Pether was an English landscape-painter. He was the eldest son of Abraham Pether...

Oil on canvas Image size: 8 3/4 x 12 1/2 inches (22 1/4 x 31 3/4 cm) Gilt frame This is a painting from the 19th Century depicts Gibraltar Island in Ohio, America, located within la...

BRITISH SCHOOL 19th Century HMY VICTORIA AND ALBERT INSPECTING THE FLEET OFF PORTSMOUTH Oil on canvas, dated Image size: 22 ½ × 33 inches (57 ×84 cm) Contemporary gilt frame HMY Victoria and Albert was a twin-paddle steamer launched 25 April 1843. It functioned as a royal yacht of the sovereign, owned and operated by the Royal Navy. She was laid down in 1842 at Pembroke Dock and was designed by William Symonds. She measured 1,034 tons burthen, carried two guns, and was the first royal yacht to be steam powered, being fitted with a 430 horsepower engine. One of the notable features that distinguished the Royal Yacht from other paddle steamers of the time, was the extremely tall masts she carried. This was in order to fly the over-sized ensigns when Queen Victoria was onboard - the Royal Standard...

George Bernard ONeil 1828-1917 Oil on canvas, signed & dated (18)76 lower right Image size: 22 ½ x 17 inches Original frame The painting depicts the arrival of the new teacher, a curious pupil peeps around a door to see her, while her friends look through the open door to the classroom to catch a glimpse. The artist has gone to great lengths with the painting, such as the highly detailed Dutch tiles on the bottom right of the picture or the window above the door in the background. O'Neil often painted works with several doorways leading off and giving a sense of depth to the work. The use of light and shadow is also cleverly depicted across the work, one light source arrives from where the viewer stands filling the room and the new teacher with light, while the other window above the door in the background also gives a warm glow. George Bernard O'Neill was born on 17th July 1828 in Dublin the ninth of fifteen children of Bernard and Sarah O...

John Rogers Herbert RA 1810- 1890 Oil on canvas, dated '1850' lower right on sword strap Image size: 33 ½ x 23 ½ inches Gilt Watts frame This striking painting, depicts David as a y...

British School 19th Century TempestOil on board Image size: 9 1/2 x 12 1/2 inches (24 x 32 cm)

Jacques François Carabain Belgian, (1834-1933) Market Day, Bruges Oil on canvas, signed & dated (18)58 Image size: 28.5 inches x 35.5 inches...

David Bates British, (1840-1921) The Plough Team, Bredon’s Norton Oil on canvas, signed & dated 1908, further inscribed verso Image size: 15.5 inches x 23.5 inches Size including frame: 21.5 inches x 29.5 inches A lovely landscape painting of a plough team on a country track near Bredon’s Norton by David Bates. Bredon’s Norton is a village located in the Cotswolds, on the slopes of Bredon Hill in South Worcestershire. The America women’s rights activist Victoria Woodhull Martin moved to the village in 1901 and by 1908 had set up an agricultural school for women at her Norton’s Park estate. The Antarctic explore Raymond Priestley also lived there. Although Bates was living in Surrey at the time of this painting, he would have been familiar with the area after having lived and worked in Worcestershire for some considerable time. He would have also most likely been aware of Victoria Woodhull Martin and the school. David Bates was born in March, Cambridge in 1840 to Benjamin Bates a shoe maker and Sarah Bates. By 1851, the family had moved to Upton upon Severn in Worcestershire and from 1855 Bates became an apprentice at the Royal Worcester Porcelain Works in Worcester. There he developed his artistic talent, painting flower decorations onto vases and plates. At some point after 1861, he became a full time artist and made his debut at the Royal Academy in 1863, continuing to exhibit there until 1893. He also exhibited at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, Suffolk Street and the Grosvenor Gallery. He married Elizabeth Higgs from Worcester in 1867 and they lived at Cherry Orchard, Bath Road in Worcester where their children were later born. Their second child John Bates Noel (1870-1927) became a landscape artist and their younger son David Samuel...

Alfred Pollentine British, (1844-1910) The Grand Canal, Venice Oil on canvas, signed & further inscribed verso Image size: 15.5 inches x 23.5 inches Size including frame: 22.5 inches x 30.5 inches A pleasing painting of the Grand Canal, Venice towards the Rialto Bridge by Alfred Pollentine. In the foreground can be seen the traditional fishing boats and Gondolas of Venice. In the distance lies the bell tower of San Bartolomeo. Alfred William Pollentine was born in St Pancras, London on 26 August 1844, the son of William Pollentine, a carver gilder and picture dealer and Caroline Smith. After the death of his father in 1856, his mother married the artist Adam Barland...

***PLEASE NOTE: EACH PAINTING INCLUDING THE FRAME MEASURES 17.5 INCHES X 23.5 INCHES*** William Mellor British, (1851-1931) Posforth Ghyll, Bolton Woods & On the Nidd near Knaresborough, Yorkshire Oil on canvas, pair, both signed & further inscribed verso Image size: 11.5 inches x 17.5 inches (each) Size including frame: 17.5 inches x 23.5 inches (each) A wonderful pair of Yorkshire river landscape paintings by William Mellor. The first shows figures walking by the banks of Posforth Ghyll a tributary of the river Wharfe near Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire. The second depicts cattle watering at the river Nidd near Knaresborough, Yorkshire. William Mellor was a landscape painter who was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire in 1851, the son of Joseph Mellor, an artist and Mary Mellor. Initially, he was employed as a loom turner in the weaving industry before becoming a professional artist. He would have received tuition from his father who clearly influenced his style and subject matter. In 1876, he married Mary Elizabeth Watson...

George Cole British, (1810-1883) Waiting for a Treat Oil on canvas, signed & dated 1857 Image size: 19.5 inches x 29.5 inches Size including frame: 26.25 inches x 36.25 inches A cha...

Edward Henry Eugene Fletcher British, (1857-1945) Shipping in the Pool of London with Tower Bridge & St Paul’s Beyond Oil on canvas, signed Image size: 14.25 inches x 29.25 inches Size including frame: 19.25 inches x 34.25 inches A wonderful painting of a steamship and other boats in the Pool of London by Edward Henry Eugene Fletcher. A two funnelled steamship is shown in the foreground next to sailing boats and a dock. Tower Bridge can be seen in the distance with St Paul’s Cathedral beyond. The Pool of London is a stretch of the River Thames between Tower Bridge and Limehouse and is divided into two sections, the Upper Pool and the Lower Pool. Edward Henry Eugene Fletcher was a marine artist who was born in Marylebone, London on 23 July 1857 to Robert Henry Fletcher and Julia Pennell. His father worked for the Bengal Pilot Service guiding shipping along the Hooghly River between Calcutta and the Bay of Bengal. After the death of his father in 1862, his mother married the picture dealer Reuben Brooks. He attended the Bradmore House School in Chiswick Lane before enrolling at the Chelsea School of Art, where he became a close friend of the landscape artist Daniel Sherrin. Fletcher initially enlisted in the Army Hospital Corp, serving in Nova Scotia but was invalided out in 1882 at the age of 24 due to an eye condition. His records indicate he was 6ft tall with fair hair and grey eyes. He continued to paint in his spare time and undoubtedly his travels would have inspired his subject matter and given him a deeper knowledge of shipping and the sea. He married Annie Reed Moses in 1886 at Norwich and they lived in Margate before moving back to London to live in Blackheath around 1890. He is widely believed to have set up an auction business during this time to help support his growing family, however , perhaps due to the return of ill health he decided to give it up to focus on painting. Although he did not exhibit, he sold his work mainly through art galleries, possibly aided by his step father. He also used the pseudonym of John Hayes which was probably for contractual reasons. By 1901, he had established himself as a full time artist and was living at Georgette Place in Greenwich with his wife and their 5 children. He later moved to 99 Lee Road, Blackheath where he spent the rest of his life. He died at Blackheath on 23 June, 1945. Much of Fletcher’s work consisted of views of the river Thames or ships in harbours...