A small watercolour portrait was added to my collection this past week. On the recto, we see a beautiful young lady wearing a large hat – no signature, no date, no clues as to who this young woman was or who the artist was. 
But all is not lost, for on the verso is a small label with the framing companies name and address and a few hand written notes as to owner and sitter. From the note, we find that this watercolour is a copy of a painting held by CH Parry. Being a musician and living near Ely Cathedral, when I think of CH Parry – it is #SirCharlesHubertHastingsParry (1848-1918) the composer. You might know as the composer of the song ‘Jerusalem’, the coronation anthem ‘I was glad’ or the hymn tune ‘Repton’.
But of course, there was an earlier CH Parry. #CharlesHenryParry (1779-1860) was a physician and author.
So to the other notes on the back. The note mentions an #AmeliaParry (1800-1888). I, so far, have not found any information on this Amelia Parry (assuming the date are correct). There are a number of Amelia Parry’s but none with these dates.
I think, at the moment, I will just appreciate the beauty of this piece and maybe some day I might find out who this young lady is.
The painting, in my collection, is entitled #MilfordSound . It’s size is roughly 6 1/2″ by 10 3/4″ (163mm x 275mm). It shows Alfred’s very definitive brush technique and his wonderful use of layered washes. His monogram appears lower left but is undated. Title appears on a label verso. Although he was a successful artist none of his works were owned publicly till well into the 20th century. He is now appreciated (deservedly so) for being at the vanguard of New Zealand art during it’s colonisation.
The watercolour, in my collection, is titled ‘Paissaje Tangerino‘ and shows a landscape near Tangier where Apperley lived from 1933 till his death in 1960. Whether it was a study for an oil painting or done ‘en plain air’ as a painting on it’s own, I do not know. It does show a nice use of colour and a deftness of brush stroke. I especially like the sky with it’s clouds. It is signed and date lower right on the face and again on the verso.
As with many engravers of his time, he took advice from master printer Frederick Goulding. His series of etchings of Oxford (1909) and Cambridge (1910) are some of his best known works. Howard has exhibited at the Royal Society of Painters, Etchers and Engravers until 1923 and showed with a number of galleries as well as the Royal Academy. Howarth’s work was extremely popular and most of his works up to 1912 sold to collectors and were only obtainable if they came up for resale at auction. During his artistic career , Howarth worked with several printers/publishers. They would purchase the finished plate from him and produce a limited set of prints – after which the plate would be destroyed. Howarth died in 1936 at the young age of 64.
At first Thaulow focused on becoming an artist of seascapes and marine vistas but over time became more interested in landscapes especially those with small bodies of water. His masterful portrayal of water and how it reacts and reflects is sublime. Thaulow traveled between Norway and France for several years and finally settled in Paris for the last 14 years of his life. Thaulow is credited with bringing Impressionism to Norway. Thurlow did not marry, thus after his death, officials sold his studio.The aquatint presented here is titled ‘The River, Snowy Day’ or ‘Wintry Landscape’. It is known that Thaulow painted this scene several times (1 oil and 5 pastel drawings) Each with slight variations in the buildings. Mr. Vidar Poulsson, an expert on this artist, has stated that this present work was probably made during his stay at Petit-Appeville, a small village near Dieppe by the river Scie. Probably painted around 1895.
I picked up this painting a couple of weeks back. I took me some time to read the inscription which I display. 
I will admit that the information I have found on Robert Kell calls him a journeyman painter and decorator and a house painter. He did paint artistic works but the two I have seen make him a mediocre artist. The citation here (which took a while to decipher) is painted over top of the original paint and has partially disappeared. As well I have never seen any artist sign his work ‘Painted by’. If my reading is correct, the inscription reads ‘Painted By Robert Kell 1859. The date would mean this painting was created in 1859 – some 21 years before his earliest known exhibiting. The frame – although fine – is not the original in which this piece was mounted. The quality of this still life says to me that there was no reason Kell should not not have been very well known and a professional in his own right and not a house painter.
I have recently been to The Ashmolean in Oxford and visited their still life gallery. To be truthful, the quality of this piece ranks it among pieces by Old Dutch masters like Kalf, de Heem, Claesz, Hullegarden, van Son, Heda and Davidsz. I believe it to be that good. Even so, I hope you enjoy looking at this artwork which might have been painted in 1859 or it might actually have been painted around a hundred years earlier.
William lived in Shere near Guildford from 1882 onward and the surrounding Surrey countryside was an ever present inspiration for his paintings. He specialised in rural scenes usually including cattle and water with the effects of light and shadow on it.
Here he taught and painted at the Bauhaus School of Art till 1933 when it was closed. Kandinsky then moved to live in Paris. He remained in France, even becoming a citizen, till his death in 1944. 
The magazine in called #Siecle XXe and I acquired numbers 3 and 4. The magazine was the brain-child of Gualtieri di San Lazaro. It was an art magazine dedicated to the promotion of modern art and artists. Artists were asked to supply works which would be used in the magazine (limited early on to 1200 copies). 
For the third volume, Kandinsky provided six #woodcuts to be reproduced – 3 in colour and 3 in black and white. Thankfully all six are to be found in the volume which I acquired. They are (as they appear in the chapter)
I have very few of this type of print in my collection and the best one is this still-life.
I have yet to find the watermark in any records. Nor have I deciphered the monogram.
Usually only five or six colours or less were used. Here, we have red, blue, green, yellow, black and brown used in this print. One can also see the hand-finishing in the application of further colour to enhance the printed image. This type of print was made popular by #JohanTeyler (1648-1709). Téyler, himself, was not an artist but a mathematician. He did own the patent for the multi-colour printing technique he used and most likely set up a publishing house which employed engravers to produce the plates and prints.
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