This charming early 20th-century watercolour by eminent British artist William Kay Blacklock ARCA (1872-1924) depicts an elderly lady carrying a basket and parasol before a farmhouse.

Born in Bishopwearmouth, Sunderland, Blacklock’s early years appear to be rather turbulent. His father, John Blacklock, an engine fitter, lost his life early, leaving his mother to raise the family alone. In 1891, the census records him living in Carlisle where his mother worked as a publican. One can’t imagine the stresses placed upon a Victorian family in this situation.

To help with the finances, the budding artist gained an apprenticeship working for a lithographer and before long enrolled at the Royal College of Art in London. At just 25, he debuted at the Royal Academy with ‘The Home of the Fisherman, Whitby’.

A keen draughtsman, he excelled at figure work with a particular skill for light effects and drapery. In a piece titled ‘Playing with Mother’, a red-cheeked toddler sits by grasses on a beach, while her doting mum prods a yellow spade in the sand. The outfits and expressions are handled beautifully. The mother wears a straw hat with a ribbon, shading her face from the radiant sun. While the view beyond extends towards a dark blue suggestion of the distant sea.

Blacklock specialised in scenes such as this - sentimental, somewhat idealised, yet carrying all the charm you could ever wish for. Women were generally front and centre - usually portrayed in caring/providing roles. Many of these feature ‘Nellie’, his regular model, whom he married in 1909.

Following his marriage, the pair moved several times - Chelsea, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Leicester, France and Polperro. This inability to settle was caused in part by Blacklock’s failing health and the necessity to find warmer climbs but also, in 1921, by a serious house fire.

This piece, from around 1922, was probably produced during the pair’s extended stay in France. Here, we see an elderly lady carrying a basket and parasol, returning to a quaint old farmhouse with window shutters. Radiant sunshine illuminates the stonework.

With his health continuing to worsen, the Blacklocks moved to Polperro in Cornwall, where he died in 1924. He left behind a remarkably joyous oeuvre despite the realities of his challenging situation. A true artist.

His works were shown at the Royal Academy, Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Royal Scottish Academy, Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, Royal Institute of Oil Painters, and Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle. He’s represented at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.

Signed in the lower right and held within a contemporary frame. Glazed.

Learn more about William Kay Blacklock ARCA in our directory.

Medium: Watercolour on paper
Overall size: 17½” x 21” / 45cm x 53cm
Year of creation: c. 1922
Provenance: Private collection, UK.
Condition: Assessed and approved by our conservator. Overall, it presents well.
Artist’s auction maximum: £85,000 for ‘Sunlight and Shadow’, Oil on canvas, Christie’s, Victorian Pictures, Drawings And Watercolours, London, 1996 (lot 631).
Our reference: BRV1747