SOLD
Frank Brangwyn:
Harbour Scene, circa 1887,
Framed (ref: 5737)
Oil on canvas
44 x 56.5 cm
Tags: Frank Brangwyn oil maritime seascapes and skyscapes
Provenance: purchased from Brangwyn in late 1880s by Frederick Kell, thence by descent.
Brangwyn's early oils tended to be seascapes in dusky and muted colours, similar to works painted by the Newlyn artists although Brangwyn was never part of the group. As in this painting he often blocked the foreground with a broad diagonal, probably influenced by his admiration for Japanese art and crafts. The brushwork is fairly loose for 1887, perhaps something of an experiment. The location is probably Rye in Sussex. The picture probably dates to the same year as Brangwyn's Fowey Harbour which sold at Christies (27.11.2002) for £160,000 (lot 27)
Kell was a lithographic printer (Thomas Kell & Son, Long Acre).and was a member of one of the London Sketch Clubs, and it may have been in that connection that he 'discovered' Brangwyn as a young artist and bought a number of works from him. We are grateful to Dr Libby Horner for assistance. The oil will appear as reference ref O2500 in her forthcoming catalogue raissonne.
