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Newlyn school scene may fetch £100,000 |
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Friday, 05 January 2007 |
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A large watercolour by one of the founders of the Newlyn School of
painters could fetch £100,000 when it goes under the hammer.A Village
Idyll by Walter Langley is being tipped to make the five figure sum
when sold at Bonhams in London in March.
Katie
Herbert, curator at Penlee House Gallery and Museum in Penzance, said
of the estimated sale price: "For one of the leading Newlyn School
artists that's not too much. I mean, put against a Picasso it's
peanuts, but the Newlyn School is going up and up in price."
She
said Walter Langley, who is buried in Penzance, was one of the main
Newlyn artists, famed for their use of natural light and everyday
scenes.
"He wanted to paint what life was really like. He was
very much showing the reality and the hardships of the Victorian age,"
she said. "The paintings are clearly scenes from Newlyn and the
surrounding area and they show the social and historical aspects of
working life in a fishing village."
Penlee House has five works by Birmingham-born Walter Langley (1852-1922), a lithographer by training.
A
Village Idyll, dated 1888, has been much exhibited around the world,
but it is the first time it has been sold on the open market. The work
is said to be one of the finest examples of Langley's large-scale
watercolours.
Despite the leisurely mood of the scene, the theme
of labour is woven throughout the picture to remind the viewer that
hard times are never far away. The tarpaulin on the fisherman's knee,
the water vessel at the woman's side and the fishing fleet in the
distance are constant reminders of the driving force behind the Newlyn
community.
article copyright Western Morning News
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