This charming late 19th-century oil painting by British artist Benjamin Williams Leader RA (1831-1923) depicts the scenic River Artro in Llanbedr, North Wales.
One of the foremost landscape painters of his generation, Leader possessed an extraordinary ability to capture nature in all her nuanced moods. An avid proponent of British naturalism, much like Constable before him, he carried a zeal to reflect a view truthfully without embellishment or idealisation.
His father, a friend of John Constable’s, encouraged him to work outside. And it was this early interest in naturalism that resulted in an advanced understanding of light, weather, and colouring. His larger finished works are akin to standing within nature itself as if he could capture the very essence of the natural world.
Here, in this picturesque study from around 1895, he’s pitched an easel by the resplendent River Artro and described a tranquil view with stepping stones, birch trees, and figures. His friend, and occasional travelling companion, David Bates (1840-1921), stood in a similar position for his larger piece by the same name.
As a study, it provides insight into Leader’s thought process as he considered the most vital aspects of the composition. Note how he’s created three visual routes to explore - to the left past the figures, straight down the river, and to the right towards distant hills.
Signed in the lower left and held within a gilt frame from the period. Previously offered at Bonhams in 1933 as ‘On the Artro, Llanbedy, North Wales’ where it was described as a “very fine example”.
Learn more about Benjamin Williams Leader in our directory.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 22½” x 26½” / 57cm x 67cm
Year of creation: c. 1895
Provenance: Oil Paintings, Water-Colour Drawings and Engravings, Frames and Other Works of Art, Bonhams, London, 1 December 1933, lot 704 / Private collection, UK.
Condition: Assessed and approved by our conservator. Cleaned. Revarnished. Canvas relined. Frame with light marks and signs of age.
Artist’s auction maximum: £145,000 for ‘Summer's Day, When The South Wind Congregates In Crowds (1888)’, Oil on canvas, Sotheby’s, Important British Pictures, London, 2003 (lot 24).
Our reference: BRV1870
