From the Blog

News, stories and musings from the eclectic world of S&W.

Post-War Patterns

Post-War Patterns

As 'back to school' approaches, we are lifting our spirits today with new works from our fantastic collection of mid-century modern textile designs
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Bygone Whitby

Bygone Whitby

I love this vivid little evocation of Whitby in 1870, not the archetypal shoreline or gothic abbey but the smoking, red-roofed life of the place
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In the Shadows

In the Shadows

Can't beat a silhouetted skyline
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Indian Elephant

Indian Elephant

Newly listed Indian mica paintings this week include this joyous depiction of an elephant and howdah
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Prakash Sonawane

Prakash Sonawane

Continuing our Indian theme this week, we have a new collection of impressive large portrait drawings by Mumbai artist Prakash Sonawane
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Indo-Persian Mughal Miniatures

Indo-Persian Mughal Miniatures

Fascinating to consider that Rembrandt had a collection of more than two dozen Mughal paintings, from which he made pen and ink studies
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Close to Home

Close to Home

Had to post this late 19th-century view of our very own Saxon church here in Bradford on Avon
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As luminous as a flame'

As luminous as a flame'

Our Red Poppy still life from our new Josef Herman OBE RA (1911–2000) collection embodies the artist's experimentation with pastel
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Picture of the Month: August 2023

Picture of the Month: August 2023

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
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Stade Beach, Hastings

Stade Beach, Hastings

A wonderfully atmospheric watercolour by Henry Robertson ARE (1848–1930) showing fishing boats on the Stade beach at Hastings
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William 'Quaker' Pegg (1775–1851)

William 'Quaker' Pegg (1775–1851)

William 'Quaker' Pegg (1775–1851) is regarded by many as being the finest flower painter to have ever worked in ceramics
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Conway's Houses

Conway's Houses

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
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Head in the Clouds

Head in the Clouds

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
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Polish-British artist Josef Herman OBE RA (1911–2000)

Polish-British artist Josef Herman OBE RA (1911–2000)

A selection from our new collection of lithographs by Polish-British artist Josef Herman OBE RA (1911–2000)
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A Glasgow Boy in North Africa

A Glasgow Boy in North Africa

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)
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Hugh Barklie Blundell McCalmont 1836–1888

Hugh Barklie Blundell McCalmont 1836–1888

A wonderfully civilised picnic 'between Croyde & Baggy Point', North Devon, 1866
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Apollonia Griffiths

Apollonia Griffiths

Lovely watercolours from our Apollonia Griffith collection
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Homeward Bound

Homeward Bound

For anyone heading south west for the summer, here is a lovely watercolour at Sennen, just a stone's throw from Land's End
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Craftswomanship

Craftswomanship

We're in awe of the craftsmanship (or craftswomanship) in our newly listed pair of 18th-century silkwork embroideries
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Picture of the Month: July 2023

Picture of the Month: July 2023

S&W Picture of the Month for July is this arresting, large portrait rendered with beautiful sensitivity by Octavius Oakley RWS (1800–1867)
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A Joyful Decorative Style

A Joyful Decorative Style

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
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Grace at the Refectory

Grace at the Refectory

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
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Berlin Woolwork

Berlin Woolwork

Our new pair of handpainted Berlin Woolwork designs tell an interesting story about the democratisation of embroidery
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This Week's Armchair Travel

This Week's Armchair Travel

We have been vicariously off on our summer hols this week with our new collection of Edwardian travel sketches by Alice Horton
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No Use Crying over...

No Use Crying over...

A wonderful rustic subject by the Scottish artist Hector Chalmers (1849–1943)
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Art Deco Illustration

Art Deco Illustration

New this week, a collection of playful English illustrations spanning the period 1906 to 1936
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Fabulous Florals

Fabulous Florals

Gorgeous new florals from the circle of James Holland OWS (1799–1870)
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Bengal Ayahs

Bengal Ayahs

Bengal Ayahs, 1856
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Enfield Artist Greta Ward

Enfield Artist Greta Ward

This lovely 1930s oil painting shows a leafy view in 'Church Street' in Enfield, north London
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Hebe & Bacchante

Hebe & Bacchante

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
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Port Isaac, Cornwall

Port Isaac, Cornwall

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
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Ivy Attwell's World Travels

Ivy Attwell's World Travels

Feeling uplifted today by our new collection of brilliantly vibrant 1950s gouaches from the world travels of Ivy T. Attwell
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Southsea Terrace, Portsmouth

Southsea Terrace, Portsmouth

It's always interesting to see a really different view of a place—here looking towards the Isle of Wight from Southsea, Portsmouth
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Mister Frasquito

Mister Frasquito

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
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Ruskin's Birds

Ruskin's Birds

A gorgeous 19th-century kingfisher study, reminiscent of the bird studies in John Ruskin's teaching collection
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Natural History

Natural History

From our recent early 19th-century natural history collection associated with the Glegg family of Withington Hall, Cheshire
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A view from our window at Llandudno'

A view from our window at Llandudno'

A view from our window at Llandudno' by Elizabeth Wedderburn, from our new collection by the Wedderburn sisters, dating from the 1870s
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Mapping the Past

Mapping the Past

This striking collection of hand-drawn early 19th-century topographical observations has had me delving into the history of cartography
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Pembrokeshire Antiquarian

Pembrokeshire Antiquarian

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
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Kenpon Chakushoku

Kenpon Chakushoku

A selection from our delightful new collection of Japanese paintings on silk (or kenpon chakushoku), dating from towards the end of the Meiji period
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George Dance the Younger RA (1741–1825)

George Dance the Younger RA (1741–1825)

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
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Tosa School

Tosa School

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
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Clogstoun Connections

Clogstoun Connections

We have a beautiful trio of works by Ina Clogstoun
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Voyage to Asia

Voyage to Asia

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
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Olivia Serres (1772–1834)

Olivia Serres (1772–1834)

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'
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