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Priory Fine Art

A Country Lane

Original 19th Century Oil Painting on Canvas

by Frederick Waters Watts (1800 - 1870)

We are grateful to Bonhams, London for confirming the authenticity of this lot on the basis of photographs and suggesting an auction estimate of £4,000 - £6,000 (private correspondence 18th August 2011)

  • This painting has been independently authenticated by Bonhams, New Bond Street, London (one of the World' preeminent fine art auction houses).  If it were to be entered into one of their sales it would attract an estimate of £4,000 - £6,000 GBP.  Bonhams described the painting as 'a strong example' of the artist's work.  A copy of the Bonhams correspondence will be supplied to the winning bidder.
  • Auction record £40,000
  • Very fine condition (see condition section below)
  • Important follower of Constable
  • Painting - 61cm (24") x 92cm (36")
  • Frame - 80cm (31 1/2") x 109cm (43")
  • This lot is offered without reserve

Lot Notes

A museum quality oil painting on canvas by this famous follower of Constable depicting a country lane in an idyllic rural landscape.  The scene contains a good deal of activity with sheep being driven along the path, a small holding to the left, a figure in a rowing boat on the right and cattle grazing before a church beyond.  The composition of this painting is superb and fully demonstrates the artist's extraordinary talent as a landscape painter.  The painting has been described by Bonhams as 'a strong example' of the artist's work and one only has to look at the photographs to see why - the composition is superb and the painting is executed on a good exhibition scale.  The painting is in very fine condition, well framed and ready to hang, the frame with a plaque lower center giving the title and the artist's name and dates. 

Watt's work is highly collectible realising thousands of pounds at auction. Please see the snapshots of auction results in the photograph section of this listing.

Condition

The painting is in very fine condition; the canvas lined in the mid 20th century, paint shrinking in some areas. There is craquelure in some areas, in particular in the foreground, to left of the trees and to central tree, the paint layer is stable throughout. Examination under ultra violet reveals retouching to the sky, retouching to areas in the extreme lower left edge and in the background to left of the figure with the walking stick.  The painting is presented in a good quality wood and gilt composite frame, the frame is in very good condition with minor imperfections.

Artist Information

Frederick Waters Watts, a landscape painter, has often been mistakenly called (Frederick) William Watts. According to his second wife, Julia Watts, he was born in Bath, Somerset, on 7 October 1800, his father had been in the navy, and his mother was Mary Eyre, daughter of Ambrose Eyre, rector of Leverington, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire; he may also be the Frederic Waters Watts, son of William and Mary Watts, who was baptised on 9 July 1801 at St Albans Abbey, St Albans, Hertfordshire. Watts was probably the William Watts who entered the Royal Academy Schools in London in 1817, aged seventeen, and won its silver medals in 1819, 1820, and 1821. He was certainly the Frederick W. Watts who exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1821 to 1860, the British Institution from 1823 to 1862, and elsewhere.  Watts lived all his working life in the Hampstead area of London but painted landscapes throughout much of Britain; he appears also to have visited France in 1826. (Two pictures with Rouen as subject matter were shown at the British Institution in 1827.) His exhibited pictures of the 1820s and 1830s usually bore specific topographic titles and were closely handled; later canvases were more broadly painted and often imitated the mature work of John Constable. Many carried generalised titles such as River Scene with Barges, enabling others subsequently to identify them as scenes in ‘Constable country’ and to misattribute them to Constable himself. Watts was regarded as a follower of Constable even in his earlier work: in 1833 one critic saw him as ‘trying to outrun the Constable’ but concluded that: ‘He never will, … daub away as he may’ (Ivy, 180). That same year, however, Constable suffered the indignity of being mistaken for his follower: one of his paintings of Helmingham Dell in Suffolk was put up for sale at Christies but arrived too late for inclusion in the catalogue. It was bought in at 50s. because, Constable told a friend, ‘it was considered Watt's, and at least not certain, if mine’ (Beckett, 164). Like Constable, Watts was a prolific outdoor oil sketcher. (Two examples are in the Tate collection.) Although possessing their own distinctive character, such sketches have also been misattributed to Constable in the past.  No details of Watts's first marriage are known except that two sons and three daughters were born of it, and that one, Alice J. Watts, became a painter. Most details of his second marriage also remain to be discovered. According to the second Mrs Watts, Julia Joanna Louisa, her husband ‘had an humble opinion of his works & talents’ and ‘ceased to paint for 10 years before his death’ (J. Watts to E. E. Leggatt, 13 Feb 1911). Watts died at his home, 11 Lawn Road, Hampstead, London, on 4 July 1870 of lung disease compounded by diabetes.

General Information

Hang your investments on the wall

Art has long been regarded as a strong and safe investment. Ellen Kelleher a personal finance reporter for The Financial Times recently wrote an article recommending art, particularly in the $500 - $50,000 range as a sound long term investment with an impressive current average annual increase of 9.7 percent. See Hang your investments on the wall by Ellen Kelleher Published October 22 2010 by the Financial Times.

About Us

Priory Fine Art specialises in high quality 17th - 20th Century British and European Fine Art. Our team have a combined experience of over 80 years in the field of fine art and have together handled the sale of many millions of pounds worth of art. As well as our own team of specialists we have close contacts from the leading auction houses who often assist us with particular pieces.

Postage and Packing

All of our paintings are professionally packaged in rigid hardboard boxes to ensure they reach you in pristine condition. Orders to the UK mainland are sent using a fully insured overnight courier service, orders to the rest of the World are sent on prompt and insured signed for services and are usually delivered within three working days.

Certificate of Authenticity

Every item we sell is fully guaranteed to be as described and a signed photo certificate is issued with every painting. We use the same cataloguing terms as most major auction houses, the terms that appear in the listing are also used on the certificates of authenticity. The cataloguing terms that we use have the following meanings;

  1. where the bold coloured text which forms the listing's heading reads 'by' and is followed by the artist's full name (or the artist's initials, if his full name is unrecorded), the work is in our opinion by the artist;
  2. where the expression "attributed to" is used, the work is in our opinion possibly a work by the artist, in whole or in part;
  3. where the expression 'circle of' is used, the work is in our opinion a work of the period of the artist and showing his influence;
  4. where the expression 'follower of' is used, the work is in our opinion a work executed in the artist's style but not necessarily by a pupil;
  5. where the expression 'manner of' is used, the work is in our opinion a work executed in the artist's style but of a later date;
  6. where the term "after" is used, the work is in our opinion a copy or pastiche (of any date) of a work by the artist. Where the term 'signed...' is used in our opinion the work has been signed by the artist, where the term 'with signature...' or 'bears signature...' is used in our opinion the signature is by a hand other than that of the artist.

Our guarantee

Every item we sell is covered by a no quibble 14 day money back guarantee.

In addition every lot which is described as being 'by' a certain artist without qualification is warranted by Priory Fine Art Limited for a period of one year. All items are warranted by Priory Fine Art Limited for a period of one year in respect of age and medium (for details see return section below.)


Payment options

Our preferred method of payment is credit/debit card.  Please call 01636 830 824 to pay by card.

We also accept payment through PayPal, by cheque/postal order or by bank transfer

We require payment within 48 hours of the end of the listing unless we have agreed otherwise before the end of the auction.


About Priory Fine Art

Priory Fine Art specialises in 17th - 20th Century British and European Fine Art. Our team have a combined experience of over 80 years in the field of fine art. We issue a certificate of authenticity with every painting that we sell.

We aim to provide a first class service with a personal touch, if you would like to discuss any painting we have for sale please call us on 01636 830 824.


Returns policy

All items are covered by a no quibble 14 day money back guarantee.

In addition Priory Fine Art Limited warrants for a period of one year from the date of sale that where the larger white text which forms a listing's heading states without qualification that a work is by a named author that that item is an autograph work by that author and not a forgery or reproduction of any kind.

Where any representations regarding age, authorship, culture, date, origin, period, source or medium is made in the larger white text which forms a listing's heading this is also warranted by Priory Fine Art Limited for a period of one year from the date of sale.

Only the larger white text that forms a listing's heading indicates what is being warranted by Priory Fine Art Limited. Priory Fine Art Limited's warranty does not apply to supplemental material that appears below the larger white text (i.e. the smaller text which forms the main body of each listing) and Priory Fine Art Limited is not responsible for errors or omissions in such material.

The warranty does not apply to any heading which is stated to be a qualified opinion. The warrant is not assignable and shall apply only to the original buyer of the lot as shown on the original invoice issued by Priory Fine Art Limited when the lot was sold. The buyer's sold and exclusive remedy is the cancellation of the sale and the refund of the original purchase price paid for the lot.


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