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BRITISH SCHOOL (19TH CENTURY) LANDSCAPE PAINTING OF "THE OLD MILL"
Signed lower right "W. Cooper", executed in oil on canvas
Item # 011WGF19L
A superb late 19th century landscape scene depicting the rural English countryside under a heavy sky thick with clouds that capture the warmth of the sunlight and diffuse golden rays across the fall foliage of the extensive tree coverage below. The leaves and grasses glow in a kaleidoscope of burnt orange, golden yellows, reds and ochre before the bubbling brook that separates the view from the two lone figures in the distance. They walk into a space lit brilliantly by light from an opening in the clouds, centering them as the most focal element of the scene while the decrepit watermill appears to be on the verge of being overtaken by nature surrounding it.
A rich and vibrant scene, it is executed in oil on canvas with intricate brush strokes and inordinate attention to detail, each pigment layered and endlessly mixed in a way that lends depth to ever element upon closer study.
Signed lower right by an unidentified artist "W. Cooper", the work retains an early gallery label from D.L. Knight verso.
Measurements: 20 1/8" H x 30" W [canvas]; 29 1/8" H x 39 1/4" W x 3 1/8" D [frame]
Condition Report:
Professionally conserved, surface cleaned and in bright presentation-ready condition. Light surface craquelure throughout. Under UV showing some inpainting along the right edge just above the brook, some thinness to the paint in the treeline left-mid quadrant, some flaring to the UV along the left side without any apparent inpainting. Period frame in overall good repair with minor losses, edge losses, gilt wear, chips and cracks in gesso as expected.