catalog text
OLIVER CLARE
British, 1853-1927
Still-Life with Pears, Yellow Plums, Grapes and a Strawberry on Tabletop
Oil on artist's panel | signed lower right "Oliver Clare"
Item # 410BHT02P
A positively exquisite example of Oliver Clare's complex still-life scenes with a complex arrangement of fruits on a tabletop - an interesting scene in his choice if utilizing an interior with dramatic interplay of light instead of the outdoor enclave he preferred for many of his paintings. The presence of moisture droplets on most of the fruit and foliage is a fun touch. It presents brilliantly in the pierced giltwood frame.
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.
Artist Listings & Bibliography:
- 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
Measurements: 12" H x 9 1/2" W [artist's panel]; 17" H x 14 15/16" W [frame]
Condition Report:
A very fine presentation. Carefully cleaned by our conservator. Under UV examination, no apparent restoration or retouch. Housed in an old but likely not original carved giltwood frame with numerous cracks and repairs. Ready to place.