George Goodwin Kilburne (1839-1924) - 19th Century Watercolour Letter Writing

Description

An intricate portrait study of a woman dressed in finery writing a letter. the artist beautifully captures the woman's silk gown, catching how the light reflects from the material. Signed to the lower left. Presented in a gilt frame and wash line mount. On paper.

Condition

The condition is typical for a picture of this age including some discolouration. There is light foxing.Some wear to the gilt frame.

Size

18 x 20cm (7.1" x 7.9")
Framed Size: 33 x 37cm (13.0" x 14.6")

Artist Biography

George Goodwin Kilburne was born at Hackford near Reepham in Norfolk. His paintings often portrayed the upper classes and ultra-fashionable female beauties in opulent late 18th- and early 19th-century settings.Kilburne travelled extensively in Italy around 1875, and painted in Rome for three months, besides working in Venice at that time, and also in 1876. the did a great deal of sketching in Normandy and Switzerland, besides visiting many parts of England and Wales for the same purpose. Shortly after the death of the Emperor Napoleon III, the Empress Eugenie commissioned Kilburne to paint several pictures for her. For that purpose the paid many visits to her at Chislehurst, Kent, to paint pictures of the rooms used by the late Emperor, which had been kept just as they were during his lifetime. Kilburne was elected a member of the New Watercolour Society (RI) in 1866. the became a member of the Royal Miniature Society in 1898 and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI) in 1883. In London, Kilburne exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1863 and 1918, at the Royal Society of British Artists (Suffolk Street), New Watercolour Society, Royal Miniature Society, Grosvenor Gallery, Dowdeswell Galleries and others. In the regions the exhibited at Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, the Manchester City Art Gallery, the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts and the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.