Pauline Plummer (b.1933) - Mid 20th Century Oil West Country Farm

Description

This pastoral landscape captures a quiet farmstead nestled among rolling green hills, evoking the gentle renewal of springtime. While grounded in naturalistic observation, the painting embraces a charmingly naïve quality, evident in the simplified linework and slightly flattened perspective. Bold, confident blocks of colour contrast with the softness of the overcast sky, lending the scene both structure and warmth. The bare-limbed trees in the foreground, likely just before budding, frame the distant farm buildings in a way that feels both deliberate and instinctive. There is a quiet balance between the human-made and the natural, a rhythmic harmony typical of rural life, conveyed through bright greens, soft browns, and cool greys. The work's unpretentious style, marked by clarity of form and sincerity of vision, recalls elements of folk art and early 20th-century English landscape traditions. It is a gentle, affectionate glimpse into the enduring character of the West country. Unsigned. On board.

Condition

Overall in good condition. There are marks and scuffs to the board. Some minor surface dirt. Inspection under UV light reveals no restoration.

Size

50 x 61cm (19.7" x 24")

Collection Information

Pauline Plummer says of her work, "My style is traditional. I enjoy the challenge of constructing a balanced composition from figures, still life or landscape. However, it is landscape which is my principal theme, usually including some structural feature such as a grand building like a church or mansion, or just a disintegrating hut, a bridge, a beached boat, or a wavering line of fence. I am fascinated by the changing colours and patterns of the agricultural scene, the brilliance of oilseed rape, or the dark shadows of potato furrows. There are also, on a small scale, even in Norfolk, all those areas which have been so carefully controlled, where the weeds grow high, and one can imagine oneself lost among them."

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Artist Biography

Born May 1933, the only daughter of two very artistic parents, Pauline studied Fine Art at the University of Reading 1951-1955, graduating with a BA Hons. After graduating she was awarded a three-year studentship by the Council for the Care of Churches to study conservation of paintings. For two years Pauline attended the Courtauld Institute of Art Technology Department, headed by Professor Stephen Rees Jones. From 1960 Pauline worked freelance. In her long career she has worked extensively all over the country on many notable conservation projects in a wide variety of locations from stately homes, colleges, churches and cathedrals, including projects for the National Trust and English Heritage. During her working life Pauline enjoyed her own art as a hobby. She benefitted from courses by distinguished teachers, for example Robin Child and Roy Freer. It was on her retirement from conservation that she immersed herself in her passion for painting and went on to develop an extensive collection of artistic work.