17th Centruy oil on canvas Josiah Childs attributed to John Riley

138 x 116cms In original frame

Modernist abstract still life by A. V. Arkel featuring geometric forms, layered colour and expressive brushwork, blending Cubist influence with depth.

42cm wide

34cm high

3cm deep

British School

Expressive abstract painting by James Bates featuring layered impasto, bold colour and gestural mark-making, creating a dynamic, textured and emotive composition.

60cm wide

60cm High

3cm deep

C1680 oil on canvas portrait of a young man in a 19the century gilt frame

83×73 cms

restoration label reverse

Carlo Pollonera captures the lightness and air of the Dolomites so proficiently here that you can almost feel and taste the crispness of the clear, thin air. The bright lime green grass suggests the early days of spring, and all the freshness and purity that accompanies it. Pollonera is able to grasp the real qualities of this scene, while doing so with a directness and flair in his brushstrokes – an approach which influenced the following generation, most notably the famed painter Cesare Maggi.

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Pollonera was born in Alexandria, Egypt, where his father was a lawyer, before returning to Italy as a child. Having fought with Garibaldi in the Trentino campaign of 1866 aged 17, he later enrolled at the Accademia Albertina in Turin and studied under Enrico Gamba and Andrea Gastaldi. In 1875, he travelled with his close friend Carlo Stratta to Paris, to study under Thomas Couture and during this time became interested in and studied the work of the Barbizon school.

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Pollonera was not only a painter but also malacologist, which, of course, is someone who studies molluscs. While still young his mother remarried, to the prominent natural scientist and senator Michele Lessona, who had a great affect on him. He originally studied natural sciences, before switching to painting, but throughout his life remained fascinated by the subject, writing over 50 scientific articles on non-marine molluscs, frequently painting and drawing scientific sketches of them and their anatomy. He was revered by his contemporaries who even named several species of snail after him.

It is unknown who this striking and powerful lady is but her strength of character is without question. Dressed elegantly she fixes her gaze with both artist and viewer, in a deeply captivating and arresting manner. Serneels showcases all of the usual flair and immediacy for which he became known and paints his subject with a directness that matches her expression.

Clement Serneels was born to a Spanish mother and a Flemish father in 1912. He attended the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Belgium, where he was considered a top student. In 1936, he was awarded a government scholarship to spend a year painting in the former Belgian Congo. 

Off the back of the success of the exhibition following this trip, Serneels returned to Central Africa in 1938. When World War II broke out, the artist stayed on in Belgian Congo and made Africa his home until 1960.

David Mead

Eardley Knollys

A fine English primitive school oil on canvas depicting a rod, reel, creel and the day’s catch. Signed R.W. Drewery and dated 1906.