Martin Snape (1852-1930) - Double Sided Watercolour, Seascape at Sunset

Description

A fine double sided watercolour study from English artist Martin Snape (1852-1930), delicately painted with a skilful use of tone and mark making. The main image depicts a sea view at sunset, possibly the artists hometown of Gosport, which Snape regularly painted and exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1874 and 1901. On the reverse there is a quicker sketch with two figures, also inscribed with the numbers '936'. Snapes' close friend Frederick Davison, who drew the only known portrait of the artist, observed: "Martin Snape's recording of the ever changing scene in and around Portsmouth Harbour from sunrise to sunset, at low water and high water...has never been so vividly portrayed by any other artist of the time". Signed. On wove.

Condition

Minor discolouration and foxing. Otherwise in fine condition.

Size

13.9 x 22.8cm (5.5" x 9")

Artist Biography

Martin Snape ( 1852-1930) was an English painter who worked in a variety of media including oil, watercolour and engraving. He concentrated mainly on topographical subjects including landscapes from the Meon Valley, and shore and maritime scenes around Portsmouth Harbour and his home town of Gosport, exhibiting these scenes at the Royal Academy between 1874 and 1901. Snape was associated with the Gosport area all his life. In 1922 he was commissioned to design the seal for the newly created Borough of Gosport. He died in 1930 but his most famous painting, Forton Creek, one of a series, still hangs in the town hall of Gosport.