This charming mid-20th-century oil painting by British artist Owen Bowen ROI RCA (1873-1967) depicts an undulant landscape with trees, sheep and distant hills. Born in Leeds, Bowen studied under the gregarious William Gilbert Foster (1855-1906) and became an integral member of the ‘Staithes Group’.There’s a jubilant feel to this piece, it’s a celebration of crisp autumnal air and the abundant sprawling countryside. It’s probably a view in the Yorkshire Dales where the artist returned to time and time again.An energetic firebrand, Bowen leapt into the world of painting with both feet. By the age of 19, he’d already won medals, opened a studio, launched an art school, and debuted at the Royal Academy. An exciting start for this young pioneer.His loose impressionistic style and preference for ‘plein air’ is at times reminiscent of Corot, the Barbizon School painter. Views appear to vibrate with intangible energy as if he’s somehow tapped into the very fabric of nature. They’re...