After Walter Langley (1852-1922) - Early 20th Century Oil A Cornish Idyll

Description

A charming oil copy of the original 1902 traditional Newlyn School painting by Walter Langley. The scene shows a woman sitting on a harbour wall, mending a quilt or sail as a fisherman sits next to her watching intently, smoking his pie. The picturesque Cornish coastline stretches into the distance behind them. The painting is unsigned and presented in a 20th Century gilt effect frame. On canvas.

Condition

The condition is typical for a picture of this age including some surface dirt and craquelure noticeable around the face of the woman. The frame is in fine condition.

Size

35 x 30cm (13.8" x 11.8")

Artist Biography

Walter Langley (8 June 1852 – 21 March 1922) was an English paint and founder of the Newlyn School of plein air artists.
He was born in Birmingham and his father was a journeyman tailor. In 1881 was elected an Associate of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA). In the same year he was offered £500 for a year's work by a Mr Thrupp (a Birmingham photographer). With this money he and his family moved to Newlyn where he was one of the first artists to settle and began recording the life of the fishing community.
Politically left wing for his era, he was noted for his social realist portrayals of working class figures, particularly fishermen and their families. He was a supporter of Charles Bradlaugh, a radical socialist politician. His own working-class background enabled him to identify with the villagers and the hardships they endured, many of his paintings reflect this sympathy with the working-class fisher-folk amongst whom he lived.
In 1884, Langley was elected a member of the RBSA and continued to exhibit widely throughout the UK and abroad. Later in his career his reputation grew.

Location

Cornwall, England, United Kingdom