Unknown artists

One of the most exciting and fascinating aspects of collecting art is finding out about the painting and the artist. Who painted it? Is the artist known? When was it painted? What is known about the painting? What sort of medium has been used? Does it have any value? So we often find ourselves with a new purchase eagerly delving into google and surfing across websites to find out what we can - how did people manage before the internet we ask ourselves?

Sometimes the artist is not obvious and ends up being tracked down through geographical association or by similar looking pictures. Often there can be several artists with the same name in which case the signature is all important. Trying to enhance the signature on a painting from a website on a computer screen can at times however be a challenge. Still we like the challenge!

What can be frustrating though is not being able to identify the picture or the artist. Actually the most frustrating thing is not being able to decipher the signature at all which can lead to much speculation and guesswork often unresolved or if there's no signature at all. Here are three examples that fall into this category.

Balinese dance Dullah by unknown artist

The first is a picture of a Balinese dancer called Dullah. We know this because her name is on the picture (at first we thought it was the painter's signature). In addition there is a label to the rear of the painting indicating that she was painted by a 'state artist' under president Sukarno of Indonesia and purchased in Singapore in 1965. It's a beautiful painting (though it probably needs a clean) and the artist his really captured something in her eyes that goes beyond the portrait.

Snowy peaks 

The second is an artist's proof print of some sort (maybe a screen print) that has lovely shades of colour from the water to the mountains. Its called snowy peaks though we can't decipher after that perhaps the name of the range or of a sound and we haven't been able to decipher the signature. It could be Turnbull but there are numerous artists called Turnbull and we haven't been able to match up the signature. It looks like it could be Scotland or Canada but there are several Canadian and Scottish artists with that name so it doesn't really help. The only thing that we do know is that it was produced in 83 (1983) so that gives a further clue - the search continues!

Venice by unknown artist

Finally is this oil painting, which is a big and bold impressionist style picture of a waterfront town. It could be Venice or another Mediterranean port. It seems to be signed D4 Rici Not sure what the D4 means and we can find no trace of Rici so it's puzzling. Anybody got any ideas? Please let us know. It's a fabulous picture though as are each of these featured pictures and just because we don't know who painted them doesn't change our appreciation of them. We love them all.                                                                                                                                                                                                     

W. Eric Thorp & W. Lambert Bell

The Two W's -  Eric Thorp and Lambert Bell

These two artists have similarities in that they lived during the same period, W. Eric Thorp (1901-1993) and W. Lambert Bell (1904-1983) and both were landscape artists. 

W. Lambert Bell lived in Stoney Middleton in the Derbyshire Peak District and also in Cornwall and painted in oils. This picture seems fairly typical of his work and is perhaps of the Peak District. This is a fine landscape painting and the length of it especially draws you to the river as it flows from the left to the right of the picture.

For further information about the artist and of the history of art in Stoney Middleton see the article by Jed Lowe at  http://smhccg.org/uncategorized/art-in-stoney-middleton/

W. Lambert Bell

W. Eric Thorp used oils and pastels and was mainly known for his marine paintings so this painting, which is entitled 'Nr Llanberis north Wales' is more unusual. Its painted in pastels, of which we have very few pictures in this medium, and is both colourful and has tremendous movement. Note in particular the smoke from the chimneys. The painting has a label to the rear showing it was exhibited by the Pastel Society and originally cost 20 guineas, though we are not sure when it was painted. W. Eric Thorp has paintings in a number of public galleries and museums in the UK.

For further information about the artist go to http://www.tudorgalleries.co.uk/artists/william-eric-thorp/

W. Eric Thorp

   

George Johnson

George Johnson

This painting was one of the earliest original pieces we bought. Its an oil on canvas wrapped around a slate by New Zealand born, Australian based artist George Johnson. We found it on a window ledge nestling behind a couple of wardrobes in a second hand shop and felt it just had to be rescued and shown off as the fabulous painting that it is. It's dated 1973 and now sits it what has become our retro room. Johnson is a painter who has concentrated on abstract geometric designs throughout his career and what we love about this picture is that every time you look at it you see something different. There is also a spiritual element to this picture and interestingly he apparently visited Peru in 1972 and this influenced his work during the period when this was painted. For further information about George Johnson and his work, check out the Charles Nodrum Gallery where he is a featured artist  www.charlesnodrumgallery.com.au

So why collect art and why D'Oyly John?

Well in terms of the collecting I guess both my partner and I have always been collectors of one thing or another - anything and everything from pieces of furniture, ceramic pots, metal figures, ash trays, glass, clocks, plates, watches in fact almost anything that has a bit of age and a lot of character that decorates our home. Our children on the other hand have tended to lament that it's been more like living in a museum! 

My own collecting started as a youth with records, or vinyl as is now the preferred term! I can distinctly remember the excitement of going to buy a new single that had just been released or flicking through the plastic sleeves on the shelves of second hand record shops looking for nuggets be they old, imported, deleted, coloured vinyl, a 12" version, a different limited edition cover or a gate-fold sleeve - the 70's offered such variety whether heavy rock, prog rock, punk, new wave, soul, reggae, ska and the list goes on. It's probably the same now and I am just well out of the loop - but can you get quite as excited about downloads? And isn't there something about holding a record in your hands and crucially looking at the artwork whether singles or LPs the cover was as important as the record.

So this is where I think my interest in art started and I recall blu-tacking these covers to the walls of many a rented flat over the years usually in a pretty shabby state with no sign of any of the chic! And although I have enjoyed visiting art exhibitions of both established and newer artists over the years I never thought I would find myself collecting art, particularly original art but so it has been that over several years we have developed our collection by searching through second hand shops, junk shops, charity shops, boot fairs and the occasional auction, to find art that we love at an affordable price.

So why D'Oyly John. Well actually it doesn't have to be. It could be any number of artists we search for or any number of pictures but there's something I love about his colourful mediterranean scenes and this print was an early one we found. It's probably from the 1960's and what we have discovered since starting to collect is the range of media and editions that are out there from oil to watercolour, pastels, mixed media, screen prints, lino, woodblock, etchings and the list goes on. Moreover there's originals, artists prints, limited edition prints, those that are signed others that aren't, that make the buying of art and then trying to identify who its by, when it was created, how many are out there etc. all the more exciting. Particularly if you come across a gem and we have found one or two - at least we think so!

Crucially though is that we don't buy art because we think it might be valuable we buy it because we love it whether it's by a known artist or not, whether it's in the best condition or not and whether it's likely to increase in value or not. The essential rule to collecting we think has to be that you like it and want to hang it on your wall to be enjoyed every time you look at it.

Having said that I'm still searching for an original D'Oyly John at a price we can afford. My partner would prefer a Russell-Flint - but that's another story. We'll keep you posted but in the meantime here are some of the pieces we love and acquired at an affordable price.

( Ventimiglia by C.R. D'Oyly John - vintage print probably 1960's)