catalog text
ALFRED AUGUSTUS GLENDENING
British, active 1861-1903
A Figure Overlooking a River Landscape Before a Pasture of Grazing Sheep (1884)
Oil on canvas | signed lower left "A. A. GLENDENING 1884"
Item # 311SJP09Z
An exquisitely painted landscape capturing a quiet grove along the river where a woman walking with her dog has stopped to take int he view. It is a moment of tranquility under the cloudy autumn sky as the cows take cover under the trees beside the water's edge. In the distant meadow, a large flock of sheep can be seen grazing throughout the grasses. The surface exhibits an excited brush-work with a moderate impasto built up from the energetic layering of colors as Glendening worked to express the sheer complexity of the landscape in front of him. The colors are fascinating with a high-chroma saturation in the foreground where the light comes through the clouds more clearly while the mountains and the distant hills become less saturated under the gray cloud cover.
The painting is signed lower left in blocked script "A. A. GLENDENING" with a date of 1884 and the reverse retains an early exhibition label numbered 2582.
ALFRED AUGUSTUS GLENDENING
Alfred Augustus Glendening was a Victorian landscape artist born in London, who initially worked as a railway clerk before pursuing a career in art. There is limited information about his early artistic training. However, his first known exhibition was in 1864 at The Royal Society of British Artists with "Morning on Grasmere Lake." He subsequently became a regular exhibitor at both the Royal Society and the Royal Academy, where he first showed "A Cornfield – Kent" in 1865.
Glendening specialized in English landscapes, particularly scenes along the Thames and in Wales and Scotland. His works often featured natural elements like riversides and swans on water, with a focus on subtle color variations and light filtering through skies. Notable works include "Summer Evening" (1867), "The Thames at Hampton" (1873), "Sunbury" (1877), "Belaugh on the Bure, Norfolk" (1889), and "In the Meadows, Youngsbury" (1900).
His painting style was characterized by a soft and delicate technique with fluid brushstrokes. He frequently depicted naturalistic scenes of the English countryside, appealing to the contemporary middle-class market. His paintings often showcased serene waterways, pastoral activities, and idyllic rural settings, which were popular during the industrialization era.
Throughout his career, Glendening exhibited over 130 works in London, including at prestigious venues like the Royal Academy, the British Institution, and Suffolk Street, between 1861 and 1903. His works are part of collections in museums in Adelaide and Sydney. Glendening lived in Greenwich, London, in the latter part of the 19th century. He should not be confused with his son, also named Alfred, who was also his pupil and a painter.
Artist Listings & Bibliography:
- E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Gründ, 2006, vol. VI, p. 327-328
Measurements: 33 1/4" H x 45 3/8" D [frame]; 24 1/4" H x 36 3/8" W [canvas]
Condition Report:
Original stretchers, some keys replaced; linen with a nicely executed wax lining; small losses inpainted horizontally around a likely old tear in center of painting just above the stream (see UV); some areas of overcleaning present, including the woman, the dog and some of the brush; losses on the left frame edge with associated vertical inpainting (see UV); overpainting present to the sky, notably the far right and left, but also present throughout (note the flaring under UV); a few other spot fillings and specks of inpainting. Just finished in our conservator's studio: cleaned, resealed in traditional Damar varnish. A very fine presentation, ready to place. Frame with numerous losses throughout, discoloration to the gilding and some overpainting of the gilding, seams present in the corner joints (tightened from the back with application of metal tabs).