Very well painted and historically interesting PAIR of original conte and gouache paintings by the listed artist Fred Jay Girling (1916 - 1992), painted in 1934.
The first is titled "St. Nicholas Cathedral from the Groat Market" depicting the cathedral, with the awning of the old Palladium Cinema on the right hand side of the street, just past the Blue Star hanging from the White Horse Pub (demolished in the 1960s and the former Thomson House (home of the Chronicle and Journal) built on the site).
The second is looking northwest along Sandhill, with the offices of B. J. Sutherland, Ship Owners, then Bessie Surtees house, with the railway viaduct beyond.
Both signed lower right, the first retaining the original back board, with the original Gallery Label from Mawson, Swan and Morgan, Art Dealers, giving the title, artist's details and date of the work.
Conte crayon and gouache on buff tone wove paper, in later gilt wood frames with matching wash line mounts. Please note, although the same size, the frames are not an exact match and have slightly different profiles (see photos).
Both paintings in excellent original condition, with strong fresh colour, the sheets very clean (see photo), frames with some slight nicks and scratches, mounts clean (see photos).
Image 32.2cm x 22.8cm, frame 54.8cm x 42cm in both cases.
Comes with our Certificate of Authenticity - guaranteed authentic and original.
Delivered ready to hang.
This is one of two works by the artist I have listed, they came from the same collector and both feature ancient Roman ruins in Italy.
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Frederick (Fred) Jay Girling 1900 – 1982
British marine and landscape painter in watercolours and
occasionally oils; Naval Architect.
Fred Girling was born in Leicestershire and lived in
Wellingborough and later Kettering in Northamptonshire. Following the death of
his father at Gallipoli during the First World War, the family moved to Belfast
where Fred trained in naval architecture with Harland & Wolff. In 1929 he
moved to Newcastle-upon-Tyne to work as a naval architect for the government
and lived in the North East for over 20 years. During this time he painted for
pleasure, but soon found a ready market for his work, which was sold by the
Newcastle Art Dealers, Mawson, Swan & Morgan of Gray Street in the city.
He was later posted to Leith as the Chief Ship Surveyor for
the East Coast of Scotland. He retired in 1965 and was awarded an OBE. In his
later years he returned to live in Northamptonshire, in Mears Ashby.
An example of his work is in the collection of Glasgow
Museum.
Ref: ‘The Artists of Northumbria’ Marshall Hall pub. 1982
The Groat Market gets its name from the old
Northumbrian word ‘groat’ for wheat. It was one of several markets that from
medieval times were clustered around St Nicholas’ Church (now St Nicholas
Cathedral). The east side was demolished for the new Town Hall and Exchange in
1855 which in turn was demolished in 1973 and replaced by Cathedral Square not
long after.
Newcastle Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St
Nicholas, is a Church of England cathedral in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It
is the seat of the Bishop of Newcastle, the mother church of the Diocese of
Newcastle and is the most northerly diocese of the Anglican Church in England,
reaching from the River Tyne as far north as Berwick-upon-Tweed and as far west
as Alston in Cumbria. The cathedral is a grade I listed building.
Founded in 1091 during the same period as the nearby castle,
the Norman church was destroyed by fire in 1216 and the current building was
completed in 1350, so is mostly of the Perpendicular style of the 14th century.
Its tower is noted for its 15th-century lantern spire. Heavily restored in
1777, the building was raised to cathedral status in 1882, when it became known
as the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas.
Sandhill is a street in Newcastle near the riverfront that has been used as a quayside since Roman times. The street was named Sandhill because it literally used to be a hill of sand when the tide was out. The land was gradually reclaimed by dumping of rubbish there from 12th century to 15th century. There was a thriving market at Sandhill. By the 16th century many prominent merchants owned property on Sandhill. However, in the late 18th century the suburbs became more fashionable for the richer merchants, and the area entered a period of slow decline - until the regeneration of the Quayside area in modern times. There are many historic buildings on Sandhill, including Bessie Surtees' House and the Guildhall - both Grade 1 listed buildings.