catalog text
OLIVER CLARE
British, 1853-1927
Still-Life of Grapes, Plums and Rasberries
Oil on canvas | signed lower right
stock ref. 409YLK21P
Measurements: 12 1/4" H x 10 3/8" W [canvas]; 16" H x 13 5/8" W [frame]
Essay
A lovely still-life of Clare's typical ouevre, the yellow grapes are the focal point of the scene with a very full bunch almost bursting with ripeness. The mossy bank of the background is understated and almost disappears while the foliage and fruit are captured with his typical minute detailing and stippling. Signed lower right corner.
Condition:
Surface presents with light grime and opacity/discoloration to the varnish - we have not sent this painting out to be cleaned and conserved. Under UV showing spots of touch up in the plums, a tiny patch repair to the reverse with corresponding inpainting, a few spots to the grapes and to the foliage here and there, the background upper right with overpainting. Original lining. Contemporary frame with some wear.
Biography
Born to the still-life artist George Clare in 1853, Oliver Clare and his brother Vincent both pursued a very distinct and individual specialization in unusually precise, intricately detailed and finely finished still-life scenes, mostly of fruit and flowers. Together with his brother, Oliver studied under his father and developed heavily on the intricate textured stippling techniques of George Clare; he is generally considered to be the best painter from the Clare family. He exhibited extensively at the Royal Society of Birmingham Artists, showing no less than eighteen paintings there over the course of his career. While he spent most of his life in Birmingham, he spent the late 1870s and early 1880s living in London where exhibited between 1873 and 1883 at least two paintings the Royal Society of British Artists (Suffolk Street) and one at the Royal Academy. He further exhibited at the the Walker Art Gallery of Liverpool and the Manchester City Art Gallery.
References:
- E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Vol. III, p. 1062
- A Dictionary of Artists who have exhibited works in the Principal London Exhibitions from 1760 to 1893, Algernon Graves, Kingsmead, 1973, p. 54
- Dictionary of British Art, Vol. IV, Victorian Painters: The Text, Christopher Wood, 1995, p. 100