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Happy New Millennium and welcome to the second edition of
the victorian-paintings.com newsletter. The new millennium
is of particular significance to collectors of Victorian art
because the turn of the century means that these paintings
could now be classified as Old Masters, which can only be
good news for the value and desirability of these works. It
may take some time for Victorian paintings to be widely
recognized as Old Masters but it will happen. The last few
months have been very busy for us, as we have significantly
increased the size of the collection and seven of the new
paintings are now displayed in our online gallery. During
the next few months we will add several more so keep
checking our site regularly for the latest paintings.
Don't forget, if you know someone else who likes Victorian
Art, please take a moment to forward this newsletter to him
or her.
Danny Wettreich
dw@victorian-paintings.com
Site Updates
We have updated the gallery and artist pages to make the
site faster and easier to use. Please let us know what you
think.
The following paintings have been added:
Charles Sillem Lidderdale
"Sara" 33x29ins oil on canvas
William H Smith
"Fruit with Bird's Nest" 10x14ins oil on canvas
Arthur Perigal RSA RSW
"Eden Mill, Banff" 17x27ins oil on canvas
Benjamin Williams Leader RA
"The Valley of the Lledr, North Wales" 15.75x24ins oil on board
John Gunson Atkinson
"Harvest Time" 16x26ins oil on canvas
Leopold Rivers RBA
"On the Towpath near Knowl Hill, Maidenhead"
27x43ins oil on canvas
William Henry Midwood
"In Disgrace" 34x42ins oil on canvas
This month's featured painting is "In Disgrace" by William
Henry Midwood.
A very good example of the many talented but little known
genre artists that flourished in this era, Midwood's work
appears often on the art market. He appears to have
exhibited two works at the Society of British Artists in
Suffolk Street, London, in 1867 and in 1871. Genre artists
are discussed in more detail below.
News: Victorian paintings are in strong demand
The end of year auctions in London and New York continued
the trend set in the summer of high prices being paid for
the best Victorian paintings. I can personally attest to
this as I paid three times the estimated price for one work
from a highly sought after artist! I have no doubt however
that this strong demand will continue and over time will
validate Victorian oil paintings as superior investments as
well as superior art.
Feature: Genre Paintings
This month's feature is about genre paintings, of which the
Middleton painting featured this month is a good example.
Genre subjects have much to tell us about the joys, sorrows
and tastes of Victorian life. In the 20th century
photography and then movies and television were to emerge as
the premier method of depicting the ordinary man and woman
as well as literary and historical subjects. In the
Victorian era genre painting filled this need. They now form
a remarkable record of the preoccupations of Victorian
society, its hopes and fears, its prejudices and failures,
its depiction of "modern life". By combining narrative with
literary, historical or social themes, Victorian artists
made their paintings into literary works. Pictures served
the same function as books, and told a story. In many
Victorian genre subjects there was an important family
element. The cycle of family life was reflected with its ups
and downs, its joys and sorrows, its disasters and triumphs.
The painting "In Disgrace" tells the story of the little
girl who has spilled ink on her schoolbook and now faces the
disapproval of her parents. The story also however tells us
about the living conditions of the family. Note the few
sticks of furniture, the bare rough walls, the uneven stone
flooring unsuccessfully attempting to cover the mud floor.
The poverty is apparent which makes the misuse of the
writing implements even more poignant. A picture is indeed
equal to a thousand words.
How-to: bid at auctions
I often get asked: "How should I bid at auctions?"
Firstly be aware that this is a difficult task and should
probably be left to the experts and art dealers. It's very
easy to get caught up in the excitement of the auction and
end up paying far too much. Always get a condition report on
the painting from the experts at the auction house. If there
are flaws or other problems with the painting it is best to
avoid it unless you know a good restorer who can advise you
of the cost and practicality of fixing the problem. My
advice is to buy quality good condition paintings from a
reputable art gallery
Do you have a general interest Victorian art related
question? Send it to us--if we can't answer it, maybe
someone out there can.
Do you have a "How-to" tip to share? Send it to
dw@victorian-paintings.com and we'll try to include it in the newsletter.
Feeback: Your suggestions
Thank you for all the interest and feedback I've had over
the last few months. I've taken note of all your suggestions
and we will be implementing some of them soon. Several
people have suggested that we add a calendar of upcoming
auctions, and many would like more background information
about the artists and the period. Please keep your
suggestions coming.
The Victorian Fine Art Discussion List
Don't forget The Victorian Fine Art Discussion List at
eGroups.com -- we need to get this going! Joining the group
is simple. For details go to:
http://www.victorian-paintings.com/contact.cfm
Or you can join the group by sending a blank e-mail to
victorian-paintings-subscribe@eGroups.com
Happy collecting,
Danny Wettreich
Victorian Art Collector
© Copyright 2000, Danny Wettreich. All rights reserved. If you
found this newsletter interesting or helpful please e-mail
it to a friend or associate and help spread the word about
Victorian Fine Art. Thank you.
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