Frederick William Leist (1873-1945)

Lost in Thought

This stunning romantic Art Deco portrait oil painting is by noted Australian/British artist Frederick Leist. He was born in Sydney, his parents both Londoners, and moved to England with his wife Ada in 1910 and exhibited prolifically, including at the Royal Academy, on his return. Like many artists, he became a war artist during the first world war and his dramatic battle scenes contrast markedly with his more delicate portraits. Painted circa 1925, this composition is of a beautiful young woman kneeling on the ground, a striped blanket covers her head and auburn curls and is around her shoulders and spread out on the ground around her. In one hand and scattered around her are beautiful pink flowers the colour of her lips. One shoulder and her face are bathed in light as she gazes down to her left, lost in thought. The brushwork and use of light are superb. Almost Orientalist by design, it is a super roaring twenties painting, full of vitality and impressionistic colour and influences and an excellent example of Leist's work. 

Signed lower right. 

Provenance Collection IMI PLC.

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https://www.richardtaylorfineart.com/artist/frederick-william-leist/lost-in-thought

Harold Harvey (1874-1941)

Cornish Family in an Interior.

This superb British figurative interior oil painting is by noted Newlyn school artist Harold Harvey. Painted circa 1912 the composition is a Cornish family, bathed in golden light, seated around a table having a simple meal. The mother, dressed in a yellow shawl and standing next to her husband is passing a plate to her son. The two younger children, sat in the bay window, are drinking their tea. The wall paper is also yellow with flowers and the children's hair gleams like gold. There are some lovely little details such as a gold fish in a bowl on a nearby dresser and bellows hanging by the fire surround. The British Impressionist brushwork and impasto are superb. This is a really warm and intimate portrayal of a family and a lovely example of Harvey's earlier work with good provenance. 

Signed lower left. 

Provenance Harry Miller, Johannesburg, South Africa; By descent to his daughter, Pera Lee Helena Miller Chiofolo; By gift to her son Richard Chiofolo; Bequest to Douglas Yoder; Private collection, Florida, 2006

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https://www.richardtaylorfineart.com/artist/harold-harvey/cornish-family-in-an-interior

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Maud Marion Wear (1873-1955)

Portrait of a Girl Holding Wool

This beautiful British Edwardian portrait oil painting is by noted and much exhibited female artist Maud Marion Wear. Wear trained at the Royal Academy Schools in London for five years and then went on to combine teaching art and exhibiting for over forty years including 45 works at the Royal Academy. Her painting were mainly portraits and figure studies. This lovey painting, painted circa 1905 is a three quarter length portrait of a young woman in front of a leaded window. She is wearing a dark dress with lace collar and lace cap. In her hands she holds a ball of tangerine wool. These colours are beautifully echoed by the autumnal trees behind her through the window. She is gazing down to her right. This painting is absolutely exquisite in its colouring with the vivid orange and greens behind her and her rosy cheeks and red lips. The sympathetic soft focus detail in her face is also superb. This is a fantastic example of Wear's work as a female artist and is just a pleasure to behold.  

Indistinctly signed lower right. 

Signed 'Maud M Wear' on stretcher verso.
 
Provenance. Essex estate. 

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James Ward (1769-1859)

Village Scene with Figures and Animals

This stunning British Old Master exhibited pastoral oil on panel is by noted artist James Ward. Painted circa 1815 with superb provenance, it was exhibited posthumously at the Royal Academy London in 1885 whilst owned by Studley Castle. The painting is of a village setting with a number of villagers going about their activities outside their cottages including doing the laundry, shoeing a horse and passing the tine of day. He was a noted animal painter and there are numerous passages throughout the painting of animals. A sow and her piglets are in the foreground just before a bridge over a stream and the cottages follow the track beyond. There is a horse by the cottage. Behind the village are majestic hills and a Sublime sky with clouds rolling in. The painting is bathed in sunlight with fantastic fluid brushwork on the track and especially in the clouds. There is also great attention to detail such as the eves of the house on the near right, the stonework on the left and the leaves of the trees. This is a superb British Old Master oil painting with excellent provenance and is a fantastic example of Ward's work. 

Signed J WARD (in ligature, lower left). 

Provenance Charles Mansel Lewis (1845-1931) And by family descent
                    Property from Stradey Castle, Wales 

Literature: C. Reginald Grundy, James Ward, R.A. His Life and Works (London, 1909), p.54, no. 858 

Exhibited: London, Royal Academy, Winter Exhibition, 1885, no.33 

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Annie Louisa Swynnerton (1844-1933)

Victorian Woodland Maiden

This superb 19th century portrait oil painting is by noted Manchester artist Annie Louisa Swynnerton. Her works have previously been bought by artists such as George Clausen and John Singer Sargent. Swynnerton was the first woman to be elected an Associate of the Royal Academy and later founded the Manchester Society of Women Painters with Isobel Dacre. The composition for this painting is of a young dark haired, ruby cheeked woman dressed in red in the foreground, resting her elbows on a log, her chin in her hands. She is smiling and gazing up and to the right. Beyond her is a wooded landscape and vibrant blue river stretching out to the sea.  An autumnal coloured blackberry briar is in front of her arms and blackberries are on the log, suggesting she is foraging for fruit and a child of the woods and nature. The work has Swynnerton's mystical, ethereal touch with superb brushwork and a vibrant palette.  We have several paintings by Swynnerton but this is one of our favourites and is a classic example of her outstanding talent as a Victorian born female artist.

Signed lower right and dated 1887.

Provenance. Italian estate.

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