Benton Fine Art has dated this Victorian Fruit Still Life to the 1890s.
British, (1853-1927)
Still Life of Apples, Grapes & Other Fruit
Oil on canvas, signed
Image size: 17.5 inches x 13.5 inches
Size including frame: 23.5 inches x 19.5 inches
A lovely still life painting of fruit by Oliver Clare. Apples, black grapes and plums can be seen together with a strawberry and gooseberries. The fruit is shown lying amongst foliage and trailing ivy on a woodland bank.
His brother Vincent Clare (1856-1917) also became an artist and both would have received tuition from their father who influenced their style and subject matter. At the age of 18 he enlisted as a soldier in the Kings Own regiment, but gave this up to become a full time artist. Like his father, Clare specialised in still life paintings, containing fruit and garden flowers, often on mossy banks.
Sometime after 1871, he moved to London where he married Emma Mary Webb on 1 September, 1873. The couple lived at 9 Dukes Road, Brentford with their first 3 children. Whilst in London he began exhibiting at Suffolk Street in 1876 and the Royal Academy in 1883. However, it was with the provincial galleries that he exhibited more prolifically with 18 works at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists with, 6 at the Manchester City Art Gallery and 3 at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
Although he’d achieved some success, he made the decision to move to America in 1889 where he worked as an artist. By 1891, he had returned to England moving back to Birmingham with his family. He lived at 190 Witton Road and later 11 Willis Street, Birmingham where he spent the rest of his life. He had a studio in Livery Street but spent a lot of his time outdoors with his dog where he was able to observe and sketch the British hedgerows. As well as paintings, he was also commissioned to produce a series of postcards and posters for the Pitman Health Food Co. Clare died at Birmingham on 13 April, 1927.
Clare’s paintings often depict ripe fruit or fresh blossom nestling on a bank with a hint of dew, and are always well finished with brushstrokes that are invisible to the eye. Examples of his work can be found at the Bolton Museum, Birmingham Museum, Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Llandudno Museum, Russell-Cotes Art Gallery, Torre Abbey Museum and the Wolverhampton Art Gallery.
Presentation: The painting is housed in a new, English made gilt frame which is in excellent condition. The reverse bears a label for George L Brown, a fine art dealer, frame maker and restorers, established by George Levi Brown sometime around 1915. The business operated out of 13 Union Passage, Birmingham until George’s death in 1928. It was then taken over by M.B. Cavell and A.O. Parry before moving to 5 Livery Street during the early 1930’s. The gallery continued until the late 1950’s.
Condition: As with all of our original antique oil paintings, this work is offered in ready to hang gallery condition, having been professionally cleaned, restored and revarnished.
© Benton Fine Art
Benton Fine Art has dated this Victorian Fruit Still Life to the 1890s.
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Still Life Oil Painting of Apples, Grapes & Other Fruit by Oliver Clare
