Eleanor Hughes RI, Farmhouse through Trees, East Sussex – 1920 watercolour

Eleanor Hughes RI Farmhouse through Trees, East Sussex

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View the full Collection: Hughes RI, Eleanor (1882–1959)

An original 1920 watercolour painting, Eleanor Hughes RI, Farmhouse through Trees, East Sussex.

A fantastic drawing in watercolour and graphite by Eleanor Hughes RI (1882–1959), who was a leading painter of the Newlyn School of artists. At Newlyn Hughes studied under the school's founder, Stanhope Forbes RA (1857–1947). She went on to become an important figure in the Lamorna colony of artists, residing nearby at Chyangweal, near St Buryan, with her husband, the artist Robert Morson Hughes (1873–1953). She was a close friend of Laura and Harold Knight, and Lamorna Birch.

The delicacy with which she painted in watercolour, using graphite to delineate detail, and her considered awareness of colour and form, has led to comparisons with the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868–1928).

This drawing is one a collection that we have for sale that were produced by Hughes in East Sussex in 1920, depicting the area around Battle, north to Robertsbridge and Salehurst and east to Udimore. Robert Morson Hughes was born at nearby Withyham, so the area possibly had significance for the couple.

Eleanor Hughes uses the rural landscape as inspiration for her exploration of shape and colour; she is particularly known for her interest in the linear form of trees and the shapes created by farm buildings within the landscape.

In watercolour with graphite.

Provenance: from a sketchbook found at Chyangweal, the family home.

Eleanor Hughes RI (1882–1959)

Eleanor Hughes née Waymouth (1882–1959) was born in Christchurch, New Zealand but her parents, Frederick and Alice, were both of West Country origin. Her father was managing director of the Canterbury Frozen Meat Co., and was responsible for provisioning the Antarctic Expeditions. The family home was a grand Arts and Crafts house in Fendalton that was later renamed Mona Vale, where the officers of the Discovery were regular guests. Artistic talent was encouraged in the family, and Eleanor's sister, Beatrice or 'Biddy', also became an artist. In 1900 Eleanor was awarded a medal by the Canterbury Fine Art Society for her drawings of trees.

In 1901 Eleanor was studying under the English artist C.N. Worsley RBA, who had recently moved to New Zealand. It was around this time that she first visited England, where for a short period she attended the Forbes School of Painting (also known as Newlyn School of Painting). In 1907 she returned to Newlyn and renewed her studies under Stanhope and Elizabeth Forbes.

At Forbes's school she met fellow artist Robert Morson Hughes (1873–1953) and the couple married in 1910. They designed and built their home, Chyangweal, near St Buryan, close to Lamorna, where they were to live for the rest of their lives. The house, which shared a driveway with 'Rosemerrin', the home of the artist Benjamin Eastlake Leader, became a regular social centre for the artists settled in the area, including Eleanor's close friends Dame Laura Knight and Lamorna Birch. Eleanor also owned a studio in the Lamorna Valley a mile from the couple’s home.

Hughes had a particular interest in trees and she frequently painted the woods in Lamorna valley and the surrounding landscape. Her combination of delicate pencil line and watercolour wash has been compared to that of Rennie Mackintosh. She also developed a strong reputation for her etchings.

In 1911 she began to exhibit at the Royal Academy and later at the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, to which she was elected a full member in 1933. She also exhibited at the New English Art Club, Glasgow Institute and Walker Gallery, as well as being an active organiser of the Newlyn and St Ives exhibitions. She died at Lamorna in 1959.

Eleanor Hughes's works can be found in the collection of Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Penzance and Christchurch Art Gallery, New Zealand.