From the Blog

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

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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A Pair of Keeshonds

A Pair of Keeshonds

A sweet, ennobled German Keeshond dog pair
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Sultan Ibrahim Adham Visited by Angels

Sultan Ibrahim Adham Visited by Angels

More miniature work in breathtaking detail, this time Indo-Persian in style
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A Closer Look at Miniatures

A Closer Look at Miniatures

The devil is in the detail
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Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna

Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna

A beautiful—at once austere yet intimate—interior glimpse at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, the main summer residence at the time of Franz Joseph I, head of the Austrian Empire
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Henry Earp Senior (1831–1914)

Henry Earp Senior (1831–1914)

Pleasing pair by Henry Earp Senior (1831–1914), head of a famous family of Brighton artists
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Richard Doyle's horses

Richard Doyle's horses

Enjoyed discovering the riotous world of Richard Doyle's horses this week, galloping through his fantastical fantastical visions of fairydom, nostrils flared and hooves aloft
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John White Abbott's Devon

John White Abbott's Devon

John White Abbott (1763–1851) tirelessly transcribed the landscapes of South Devon local to his home at Fordlands near Exeter—even, in this vital sepia work, at the grand old age of 80
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Journey to the Holy Land

Journey to the Holy Land

Rare depictions of 19th-century Palestine by Anna Julia Grant-Duff (1839–1915), who in the 1880s spent a winter at Haifa in a house owned by the British author and traveller Laurence Oliphant (1829–1888)
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Warwick William Lendon SGA (b.1883)

Warwick William Lendon SGA (b.1883)

This little piece of postal service history is an original 1930s Greetings Telegram design by graphic artist Warwick William Lendon SGA
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Theodore Henry Adolphus Fielding (1781–1851)

Theodore Henry Adolphus Fielding (1781–1851)

This lovely Continental landscape by Theodore Henry Adolphus Fielding (1781–1851), which is a small triumph in composition and colouring
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A New (Old) Leaf

A New (Old) Leaf

We encounter and deal in the materiality of paper every day, so it is envigorating to once in a while handle non-paper
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A Gentleman Amateur

A Gentleman Amateur

Our new collection of drawings by Exeter artist John White Abbott (1763–1851) is a tour de force from this gentleman amateur, who never sold a painting but whose oils were praised more highly those of his friend and teacher Francis Towne
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A Victorian Eye

A Victorian Eye

From our new collection of Victorian capriccio subjects, an exquisitely painted cat with a bubble pipe
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Japanese Trio

Japanese Trio

This captivating trio of Japanese paintings dates from the early decades of the 20th century
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The real India lives in its villages'

'The real India lives in its villages'

This beautiful impasto oil painting dates from 1930s India and is associated with the Ishwar Dass School of Arts, Lucknow
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Claude Hayes RI ROI (1852–1922)

Claude Hayes RI ROI (1852–1922)

Claude Hayes RI ROI (1852–1922) captures the expansive horizontal striation of the fen landscape in this quietly expressive, wide-format watercolour
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Jean Mary Ogilvie's Art Deco Designs

Jean Mary Ogilvie's Art Deco Designs

We've made new additions this week to our stunning collection of 1930s hand-painted Art Deco pattern designs
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Japanese watercolours

Japanese watercolours

Newly listed is this small collection of early 20th-century kachō-e watercolours in the manner of Ohara Koson (1877–1945)
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