Description

A charming pastel of a woman in traditional French dress and hat looking down to the ground. Unsigned. On wove.

Condition

There is some minor discolouration as well as some small scuffs to the edges.

Collection Information

This fine selection of Monk's work includes classic examples of his well-known London architectural etchings, as well as landscapes and pastel figure studies, depicting sartorial styles from both sides of the English Channel.

Biography

William Monk was a painter and topographical printmaker, born in Chester. He studied at the Antwerp Royal Academy, Belgium. His architectural views included locations such as London, New York, Eton, Winchester and Durham. Monk was elected an Associate of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers in 1894 and a full member in 1899. He was a prolific exhibitor showing at the Grosvenor Gallery, Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, Walker Art Gallery, Manchester Academy of Fine Arts, Royal Academy of Arts and Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours. He was also a member of the Society of Graver-Printmakers in Colour and acted as Vice-President shortly before his death.

Examples of his work are held in the collections of the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum and the Imperial War Museum. He is best remembered for his annual 'Calendarium Londinense' (The London Almanack) which contained a 12-month calendar with one of Monk's engravings of the capital. Monk left London in 1933 and returned to his native Chester where he died 4 years later. In 2013, the 150th anniversary of the artist's birth was marked at the city's Grosvenor Museum with the exhibition 'A Vision of England: Etchings by William Monk'.