What characterises Victorian genre oil paintings?

Victorian genre oil paintings depict scenes from everyday life, often focusing on domestic interiors, rustic settings, and narrative themes popular in nineteenth-century Britain.

What materials were traditionally used in nineteenth-century framed oil paintings?

Artists typically applied oil paints composed of pigments bound with drying oils onto stretched canvas or wooden panels, presented within carved or moulded wood frames coated in gold leaf plaster or gesso.

How can authentic Victorian oil paintings be identified?

Authentic works often display age-appropriate craquelure across the paint surface, natural oxidisation on the canvas reverse or stretcher, and signatures or inscriptions consistent with period artists.

How can a framed Victorian oil painting be styled in modern interiors?

Positioning a gilded genre painting against a dark feature wall or above a console table creates an elegant focal point, bridging historical art with contemporary aesthetic schemes.

How should an antique oil painting and gilded frame be preserved?

Keep the painting away from direct sunlight, extreme humidity, and heat sources, and clean the gilt frame gently using a dry, soft camel-hair brush without liquid solvents.

for sale €3,978 $4,318

£3,400

Benton Fine Art

Sellingantiques Verified Since Sep 2012

View Dealers Stock Page

About Us

Specialists in 19th & early 20th century original oil paintings by listed artists
Trade Associations

Benton Fine Art is a registered member of LAPADA BADA CINOA

Relevant Links

Framed Victorian Fine Art

Rustic Interior Oil Painting

Antique Cottage Scene Painting

Id #SA960666

PDF

SAVE

Genre Oil Painting of a Woman & Child in a Welsh Cottage by Alfred Provis

Name: Genre Oil Painting of a Woman & Child in a Welsh Cottage by Alfred Provis
Brand: Antique
SKU: SA960666
Price: 3400 GBP
Availability: InStock

19th century

For Sale by Benton Fine Art

Description

Alfred Provis

British, (1818-1890)

By the Fireside

Oil on canvas, signed & dated 1869

Image size: 10.5 inches x 15.5 inches

Size including frame: 21.5 inches x 26.5 inches

This charming cottage scene by Alfred Provis features a woman preparing supper by a fire with her young daughter. As the mother peels the turnips and places them in the pot, the girl’s attention is drawn to the kitten feeding from a saucer. The dress and hat of the woman bears a similarity to those found Provis’s other scenes of Welsh cottage interiors. The artist was known to have visited North Wales around the time this painting was produced. In 1869, he exhibited a work entitled ‘Interior of a Welsh Farmhouse’ at the Royal Society of British Artists. Given the level of detail in the painting and the fact that it is in such an impressive original frame, it is possible this is the same painting as the one exhibited.

Alfred Provis was a genre painter born on 18 February, 1818 in Chippenham, Wiltshire. He was the son of John Provis, a timber merchant and his second wife Ann Banks. He spent time in London being tutored by the historical and portrait artist John Wood (1801-1870) before returning to Chippenham. He began exhibiting at the Royal Society of British Artists in 1843, continuing to exhibit there regularly until 1886. He made his debut at the Royal Academy in 1846 with a work entitled ‘A Cottage Door’ and the following year began exhibiting at the British Institution.

Provis moved back to London around 1849, where he lived at 56 Nelson Square and later 60 Great Portland Street where he kept a studio. By the time of his marriage to Ellen Andrews on 16 August, 1851 at All Souls Church, Marylebone, Provis had become a successful artist. From 1853, the couple lived in Elms Cottage, Brentford and had two children together, Ellen Agnes and Mary Evelyn. Provis spent his time painting genre scenes usually of rustic cottage interiors featuring families. During the 1850’s and 1860’s he also visited Brittany and North Wales painting interior scenes on more than one occasion.

Towards the end of 1873, he moved to Thornhill House at Kingston Lisle in Berkshire. A number of scenes painted after this time featured his own cottage with his family as models. He died at Thornhill House on 10 August, 1890, leaving a considerable legacy.

Examples of his work can be found in the Aberdeen Art Gallery, Atkinson Art Gallery, Bury Art Museum, Childhood Collection, Ferens Art Gallery, Harris Museum & Art Gallery, National Library of Wales, V&A, Wiltshire Museum and Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

Presentation: The painting is housed in its original gilt frame which is in excellent condition.

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

Physical Dimensions

Height

54.5cm (21.46")

Width

67.5cm (26.57")

Depth

7.5cm (2.95")

Declaration

Benton Fine Art has dated this Victorian Genre Oil Painting to the 1860s.

Reference Numbers

Sellingantiques Reference

SA960666

Dealers Notes

Members of the British Antique Dealers Association (BADA) the London and Provincial Antique Dealers Association (LAPADA).

We use a professional, fully insured and tracked door to door service for our UK and international deliveries. Please contact us for further information and shipping quotes.

Viewing is by APPOINTMENT ONLY. However, we can also arrange for you to view the item in your home, depending on the location.

For a wider range of stock please visit www.bentonfineart.com.

If you would like to purchase this item or have any questions, please email us at pictures@bentonfineart.com or call 07710 540549.

© Benton Fine Art

Description

Alfred Provis

British, (1818-1890)

By the Fireside

Oil on canvas, signed & dated 1869

Image size: 10.5 inches x 15.5 inches

Size including frame: 21.5 inches x 26.5 inches

“

This charming cottage scene by Alfred Provis features a woman preparing supper by a fire with her young daughter.

Benton Fine Art

As the mother peels the turnips and places them in the pot, the girl’s attention is drawn to the kitten feeding from a saucer. The dress and hat of the woman bears a similarity to those found Provis’s other scenes of Welsh cottage interiors. The artist was known to have visited North Wales around the time this painting was produced. In 1869, he exhibited a work entitled ‘Interior of a Welsh Farmhouse’ at the Royal Society of British Artists. Given the level of detail in the painting and the fact that it is in such an impressive original frame, it is possible this is the same painting as the one exhibited.

fig 1. A nineteenth-century framed oil painting depicting a woman and child inside a rustic cottage interior, enclosed in a heavily ornate gold gilt frame. — fig 1. Genre Oil Painting of a Woman & Child in a Welsh Cottage by Alfred Provis

Alfred Provis was a genre painter born on 18 February, 1818 in Chippenham, Wiltshire. He was the son of John Provis, a timber merchant and his second wife Ann Banks. He spent time in London being tutored by the historical and portrait artist John Wood (1801-1870) before returning to Chippenham. He began exhibiting at the Royal Society of British Artists in 1843, continuing to exhibit there regularly until 1886. He made his debut at the Royal Academy in 1846 with a work entitled ‘A Cottage Door’ and the following year began exhibiting at the British Institution.

fig 2. A nineteenth-century framed oil painting depicting a woman and child inside a rustic cottage interior, enclosed in a heavily ornate gold gilt frame. — fig 2. Genre Oil Painting of a Woman & Child in a Welsh Cottage by Alfred Provis

Provis moved back to London around 1849, where he lived at 56 Nelson Square and later 60 Great Portland Street where he kept a studio. By the time of his marriage to Ellen Andrews on 16 August, 1851 at All Souls Church, Marylebone, Provis had become a successful artist. From 1853, the couple lived in Elms Cottage, Brentford and had two children together, Ellen Agnes and Mary Evelyn. Provis spent his time painting genre scenes usually of rustic cottage interiors featuring families. During the 1850’s and 1860’s he also visited Brittany and North Wales painting interior scenes on more than one occasion.

fig 3. A nineteenth-century framed oil painting depicting a woman and child inside a rustic cottage interior, enclosed in a heavily ornate gold gilt frame. — fig 3. Genre Oil Painting of a Woman & Child in a Welsh Cottage by Alfred Provis

Towards the end of 1873, he moved to Thornhill House at Kingston Lisle in Berkshire. A number of scenes painted after this time featured his own cottage with his family as models. He died at Thornhill House on 10 August, 1890, leaving a considerable legacy.

fig 4. A nineteenth-century framed oil painting depicting a woman and child inside a rustic cottage interior, enclosed in a heavily ornate gold gilt frame. — fig 4. Genre Oil Painting of a Woman & Child in a Welsh Cottage by Alfred Provis

Examples of his work can be found in the Aberdeen Art Gallery, Atkinson Art Gallery, Bury Art Museum, Childhood Collection, Ferens Art Gallery, Harris Museum & Art Gallery, National Library of Wales, V&A, Wiltshire Museum and Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

fig 5. A nineteenth-century framed oil painting depicting a woman and child inside a rustic cottage interior, enclosed in a heavily ornate gold gilt frame. — fig 5. Genre Oil Painting of a Woman & Child in a Welsh Cottage by Alfred Provis

Presentation: The painting is housed in its original gilt frame which is in excellent condition.

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.