ART COLLECTION: 30 PAINTINGS UNDER £30,000
We are delighted to announce the online exhibition ‘Thirty Paintings under £30,000’ commencing April 14th – May 31st. The selection covers a wide range of genres from the eighteenth to the 20th century. The landscapes, abstract works and portraits have been curated to appeal to everyone from those dipping their toes into the art world to those looking for a particular work to complete a specific part of their art collection.
A range of these works will be able to be viewed in the gallery from Monday 12th April when we can reopen our doors as part of our art collection that is available to purchase.
Whether you are looking to acquire art for decorative purposes, as an investment, or for love and passion for the arts, building a strong art collection requires time and knowledge.
19th Century & Victorian
Beside her – and rather in contrast to herself – sits a restless child, peering with curiosity into the shrubs that glint enticingly with greens and autumnal ambers and reds. The likelihood is that this was Blacklock’s wife Ellen, or ‘Nellie’, and their daughter Eleanor.
The natural landscape stretches out behind them majestically and reveals something of the artist’s tendency to paint in the style of realism and Victorian genre painting.
His choice in subject matter – everyday scenes, rural countryside and coast – stems from his early life within the later years of High Victorian painting. His depiction of nature was found to be pleasing to his contemporaries and has sustained a lasting appeal.
‘The Top of the Hill’ by William Kay Blacklock. £24,000
William Kay Blacklock’s typical chosen subject for painting was a women, often seated and looking peaceful, undertaking some leisurely activity like reading or sewing. In fact relatively few of Blacklock’s protagonists are looking up from their given task, whereas in this painting the woman looks directly through the oils and back at us.
This assertiveness from her is rather more engaging than if she were looking away. However, her posture, expression, and accompanying stick also present an air of weariness, which fittingly relates to the title of this work.
Impressionist & Post – Impressionist
‘Une Journée Sur La Marne’ by Lucien Adrion. £20,000
Lucien Adrion was French Post-Impressionist painter, engraver and watercolourist, known for his depictions of Parisian life and landscapes of the French countryside and beaches. Adrion was especially appreciated for his crowded scenes of Parisian life.
This painting is a bustling hub of activity – from the clouds in the sky which look as though they’re whistling over the trees, to the many dynamic figures below. Adrion was especially appreciated for his crowded scenes of Parisian life.
In this painting, Adrion captures a snapshot from a leisurely day spent beside the Marne river, a tributary of the Seine which stretches southeast of Paris. Adrion uses short brushstrokes of thicker paint to define the figures and trees.
The river, meanwhile, is what brings so much motion to the piece; Adrion has used varied, wispy streaks of oil to present a dancing, rippling mirror of the painting’s other elements. Vibrant colours perfectly capture the lively atmosphere of the scene. This piece is a wonderful example of Adrion’s work in general, but also an insight into modern life in Paris in the early 1900’s, as he demonstrates the movement and transience of urban life.
Modern British
She worked with bold palettes and simplified shapes, carefully orchestrating her still life compositions to draw out the extraordinary from ordinary objects.
In fact, it was her constant progression and development throughout her career that makes her overall body of work so interesting; from her earlier pieces playing with colour, perspective, and patterns to her later work experimenting with light, texture, and crisper, cleaner lines.
‘Landscape Study, Italy, 1975’ by Mary Fedden. £12,500
Mary Fedden’s is renowned for her unique perspective and great talent for finding beauty in the everyday. Her first solo exhibition followed the next year at the Mansard Gallery in Heal’s Department Store, where several of her still life flower paintings were displayed. Fedden developed her own style of flower paintings and still lifes, reminiscent of artists such as Matisse and Braque.
Post War
‘Blue Barrier, 1982’ by William Gear. £5,500
William Gear was a Scottish painter known for his abstract compositions and as one of the most international in spirit among British artists of his generation and one of the relatively few to make a reputation outside Britain.
Gear is recognised for his fondness for heavy black line as a division of colour, predominately reds, yellows and oranges. He regarded the structure and architecture, like the building of his painting to be the most essential basis of a work.
This striking work, Blue Barrier, was painted towards the end of Gear’s career in 1982 when he had developed a distinctive style after his time at Birmingham University. In this period, Gear painted dynamic, diagonal black armatures against vibrant detonations of colour, perfecting a new, thrilling evocation of light pulsing through foliage
Gear had previously expressed an early interest in Surrealism and had a brief brush with the Scottish Colourists, though at this time his work at this time was in the mainstream of the École de Paris, using an abstract style but based on nature.
Gear once described his paintings as ‘statements of kinship with the natural world’, as they typically used rich colours within a framework of strong black lines, in a manner suggesting stained glass.
View The Full Collection
Online & In Our Broadway Gallery
The flipbook is ready for you to peruse at your leisure. If you would like further information on any of the paintings or indeed to see them in the flesh do contact us by phoning 01386 859329 or email [email protected]
The first commitment to starting an art collection will probably be a little daunting, but the best time to start collecting art is always now.
If you would like to speak to one of our gallery experts about the works in our exhibition and starting your art collection then please get in touch.
‘Painting is just another way of keeping a diary’ Pablo Picasso
We look forward to helping you write the pages…
