From what at first appears an unassuming sketch unfolds a story of one of the 18th century's most important feminists and a home at the centre of an alternative, bohemian social milieu of Regency England
Our Conway collection records a number of English country houses in the late 19th century—often buildings that have since been demolished or much changed
New this week, a vivid collection of miniature mid-19th-century sketches in watercolour and bodycolour on blue paper after Masters such as Turner, Constable, Gainsborough and Rembrandt
This gorgeous watercolour is a rare example of the work of Erskine Edward Nicol (1868–1926), who had connections with 'The Glasgow Boys' and whose paintings recall the North African subjects of Scottish painter Arthur Melville (1855–1904)
John Hall Thorpe's joyful decorative style is instantly recognisable: think Mary Delany, pared back and infused with flattened forms of modernity for the interwar era
The naturalism with which George Cattermole RWS (1800–1868) rendered his historical subjects is quite breathtaking—our newly listed 'Grace at the Refectory' by Cattermole this week has allowed us to get up close and personal with his technique, combining watercolour and bodycolour to give the scene real depth
This fine pair of drawings after the 18th-century Italian painter and engraver Giovanni Battista Cipriani RA (1727–1785) depict Hebe, the ancient Greek goddess of youth, and a Bacchante, a priestess or female followers of the god Bacchus
This light-filled back street view in Port Isaac, on Cornwall's north coast, shows the celebrated St Ives painter John Anthony Park RBA ROI (1880–1962) working in a post-impressionistic style
There is mystery and mystique around the relocation of British artist Frank Hind to Granada, Spain in 1905 and his change of name to Francis Wallis-Markland—a curious story that adds to the other-worldly quality of his Symbolist inspired pastel renderings of Granada's gardens
Two rare works depicting Pembrokeshire landmarks by antiquarian Charles Norris (1779–1858), whose work is of importance in recording buildings that have subsequently been lost
This elegant portrait sketch of a boy in profile by George Dance the Younger RA (1741–1825) is possibly the artist's youngest son, Charles Webb (1785–1844), aged thirteen
Newly listed (and quickly sold), this wonderful Kosa school illustration, featuring the remarkable Japanese pigment 'gofun' or shell white: a form of calcite, calcium carbonate, made of crushed seashells, usually oyster shells
Vibrant yet ethereal pictures that tell of the 'golden' age of British sea trade; a time when Britain was China's leading trading partner and had ambitions to push westwards from Shanghai up the Yangtze River
Researching our John Thomas Serres sketch I got diverted by the story of his wife, Olivia Serres (1772–1834): also an artist but most famous—or infamous—for being 'an imposter'