Charles Henry Miller, Lea River, Tottenham, London - Antique Oil Painting

This late 19th-century oil painting by American artist Charles Henry Miller (1842-1922) depicts an evening view on the River Lea at Tottenham, London. Miller was an ingenious painter of landscapes and a member of the National Academy.

Gently lit by the early rays of a rising sun, several vessels bob on this busy waterway. On a nearby barge, two sailors appear to be stepping a mast. While beyond, the horizon is punctuated by triangular sails. Miller visited London several times and it’s conceivable that, on this occasion in 1885, he took a boat along the river. This is an exceedingly rare find as, according to our records, it’s the first time that one of his London works has been publicly available.

Born in Manhattan, New York, Miller’s father, Jacob Miller, was an architect and evidently furnished his son with a natural aptitude for drawing. It’s fascinating to consider whether such skills are acquired via one’s DNA or through observation and nurture. His dexterity as a draughtsman served him well as, in 1859, he enrolled at the National Academy and had a painting hung there soon after. At 18, he was already receiving encouraging plaudits from both peers and tutors.

However, despite his ability with a pencil and sketchbook, his father dissuaded him from a career in the arts and, instead, offered him two choices - law or medicine, from which the young aspirant opted for the latter. Despite this, he retained his commitment to art and enrolled at the National Academy while simultaneously undertaking medical studies at the Washington Collegiate Institute. Rarely did an hour go unwasted - this was a young man dedicated to his development.

Following graduation, he joined the New York Homeopathic Medical College, which ultimately led to his degree in 1863, and subsequent employment aboard the ‘Harvest Queen’, as the ship’s doctor. It was a heady time of tense transatlantic voyages, the occasional mutiny, and messy improvised surgery. When docked at Liverpool, he utilised his shore time to explore the delights of European art museums, such as those in London, Scotland, Antwerp and Paris. Sketchbook in hand, he studied the masters, before sailing home and sketching the Atlantic.

Evidently, the formidable works of the finest European artists proved more inspirational than the scalpel and tourniquet, as Miller quit medicine to pursue art full time. In 1867, he undertook a tour - visiting Berlin, Dresden and Vienna before settling in Munich, where he trained under the landscape painter Adolf Heinrich Lier (1826-1882).

Lier was an exciting prospect, inspired by the French ‘plein air’ painters, yet equally blessed with technical nous. He believed that landscapes should convey an overall ‘effect’ rather than focus extensively on details. Miller’s oeuvre is testament to Lier’s preference for atmosphere over obsessive granularity. As one of the first Americans to study art in Germany, he inspired numerous others to follow suit.

Upon returning to the US, he settled in Long Island and soon established himself as an artist of considerable merit. At the time, Queens County consisted of simple farming and fishing villages, scattered around plains and inlets. Occasionally, a rustic mill would break the serenity, but little else. Miller called it home and set about capturing his deeply picturesque environs, not only for the sake of good art but also for posterity. Urbanisation was a looming reality and he treasured the simpler ways of life. Indeed, when Queens and Nassau County transformed immeasurably, he pined for the innocence of yesteryear. The poet Bayard Taylor referred to him as "the discoverer of Long Island”.

Miller’s ability to deftly capture a view while also conveying a mood, captured the attention of the National Academy and he was elected a member in 1875. His forward-thinking, broadly French, approach to open ai