John Alfred Arnesby Brown (1866-1955)

Wells Next the Sea Norfolk Landscape.

This beautiful British Edwardian Impressionist coastal landscape oil painting is by noted artist John Alfred Arnesby Brown. Painted circa 1910 the location is Wells Next the Sea in Norfolk. (The name is to distinguish it from other places of the same name). The artist lived and worked in Norfolk as well as spending much time in St Ives, Cornwall. The painting was formerly in the collection of Gloucestershire art collector Maurice Costley. The view is looking across the water towards Wells and the long stretch of the harbour front with a promenade.  The distinctive landmark of the seafront, to the left in the painting, is the granary with its overhanging gantry on the quay, started in 1904 and finished in 1905. This has now been converted into flats, having ceased operating as a granary in 1990 but still has the overhanging gantry. Other landmarks to the right can be seen. Boats are dotted about the harbour and a blustery sky is over head. The beauty of this painting lies in the fantastic characteristic brushwork that makes Arnesby Brown's work so readily identifiable. They brushwork in the sky is just superb, with its bold strokes and impasto. The deceptively muted palette contains a vast range of subtle colours - in the water in the foreground and the seafront buildings. This is a beautiful British Edwardian oil painting of Wells next the Sea and an excellent example of Arnesby Brown's work.
Signed lower right.

Provenance: From the collection of the late Maurice Costley
                     Mandell's Gallery label verso.

Click below for Arnesby Brown
https://www.richardtaylorfineart.com/artist/arnesby-brown/wells-next-the-sea-norfolk-landscape

Click below for more seascapes
https://www.richardtaylorfineart.com/gallery/seascapes