Name: George Clare, Still Life with Grapes, Damsons & Raspberries – 1880s oil painting
Brand: Somerset & Wood
SKU: KB-074
Price: 980.00 GBP
Availability: OutOfStock

George Clare, Still Life with Grapes, Damsons & Raspberries – 1880s oil painting

An original 1880s oil painting, George Clare, Still Life with Grapes, Damsons & Raspberries.

A delectable still life in oil by the celebrated Victorian painter of flowers, nests and fruit George Clare (c.1830–1890).

George Clare is the eldest of a dynasty that includes his sons, Oliver and Vincent, who worked in a similar style. Little is known about Clare's artistic training, but in both his subjects and his stippling technique it is believed that he was influenced by the elder English still life painter William Henry Hunt (1790– 1864) (whose naturalistic depictions of fruit, flowers, and birds' nests earned him the nickname ‘Bird’s Nest’ Hunt).

Clare initially worked in the decorative arts as a japanner while honing his skills as a painter—in particular, it seems, his ability to work with high precision and fine detail, as well with a sense of the decorative in colour, texture and composition. This combination of traits aligns Clare's work with that of Pre-Raphaelite artists, whose work championed truth to nature whilst also being consciously crafted.

Inscribed on the reverse, 'Ge: Clare, Moretonhampstead, Devon', this still life dates from the period around 1881 when George Clare was living in Court Street in the Dartmoor town of Moretonhampstead.

Oil on canvas on stretchers. Presented in a swept gilt frame with gilt liner.

Image size: 13.9 x 21.4cm. Frame size: 23 x 30.5cm.

George Clare (c.1830–1890)

George Clare (c.1830–1890) is considered to be one of the finest British still life painters of his generation. His biographical details are somewhat unclear, including his life dates and his birthplace, which is variously recorded as Barnet, Hertfordshire and Birmingham. In any case it is clear that he spent time living in the Birmingham area, at Aston, Warwickshire in the 1850s and at Bristol Street, Birmingham, then King Edwards Road, Ladywood into the 1870s. In 1881 he moved to Moretonhampstead, Devon, before returning to Barnet before his death.George Clare initially worked as a japanner. In 1852 he married Maria Elizabeth Bowen and they went on to have numerous children between the 1850s and 1870, two of whom, Oliver and Vincent, also became artists. George Clare specialised in still life paintings of flowers, fruit and birds nests, influenced by the work of William Henry Hunt (1790–1864).Clare exhibited widely during his life, including at the Royal Academy, The Royal Society of British Artists and The British Institution. Works by Clare are held in the collections of Birmingham City Art Gallery, Southampton City Art Gallery, The Cooper Gallery and Torre Abbey, Torquay.