Greta Ward Trees in Church Street, Enfield

An original c.1930s oil painting, Greta Ward, Trees in Church Street, Enfield.

This lovely oil painting by the interesting and talented—and somewhat overlooked—artist Greta Ward (later Sanderson) brings together elements and influences at play in British art in the 1920s and 1930s. The painting shows a leafy view in 'Church Street' in Enfield, north London. The view is dominated by a profusion of trees of varied textures and colours, with just glimpses of urban life in the diminutive hedges and pavements, houses and street lamp—a composition that evokes the London street views of the Camden Town Group earlier in the century. The subtle colour palette of muted greens and browns enhances the 'patterning' effect of the overall image. Its original wooden frame, with a rustic Arts and Crafts feel, brings a distinct decorative quality to the piece.

In 1936 Greta Ward married fellow artist Archibald Sanderson (1901–1972), who was a brilliant teacher, lecturer and eminent art historian. At the time of painting, 'Miss Greta Ward' was living at 54 Colne Road in Enfield, just a stone's throw from Church Street. Later, Sanderson is living at this address also.

Ward and Sanderson painted in a similar style, their work resembling that of near-contemporary Ethelbert White (1891–1972). They both depicted bucolic landscapes of southern England and worked in a graphic style that was influenced by wood engraving and poster design of the period, such as the work of Eric Ravilious (1903–1942) and Edward Bawden (1903–1989). The legacy of the design aesthetic of the Bloomsbury group, with in turn its roots in European modernism and cubism, can be seen in Ward's preoccupation with the formal qualities of a landscape and its patterning effects through texture, shape and colour.

There is not much readily available information about Greta Ward, but an etching gifted to her by printmaker Robin Tanner (1904–1988) reflects a link between her work and the English landscape artists of the period working in a neo-romantic style. Tanner, and others such as Graham Sutherland and Paul and John Nash, followed in the visionary tradition of Samuel Palmer and William Blake. A postwar return to nature, depicting pastoral idylls and Arcadian visions, served to console, reassure and reveal poetry in a way that was constructive for the damaged national psyche.

Ward and Sanderson both exhibited at the Royal Academy, the New English Art Club and elsewhere. They were active with Enfield Art Circle, with Archibald Sanderson becoming its president in 1954 and serving the Art Circle well until his death in 1972; a studio room at Millfield House, Enfield is named after him.

In oil on canvas laid down on board. Presented in its original decorative wooden frame, bearing labels on the back which give details of the work. A date added by a later hand, '1898' appears to be erroneous or unrelated to the date of painting.