This spirited late 19th-century oil painting by British artist George Boyle (1842-1930) depicts a pastoral scene with cows grazing by a river. Boyle was a pioneering landscape painter and one of the forerunners of British naturalism, but much overlooked both in his lifetime and today.
Under a resplendent sky, synonymous with the buoyancy of an English summer, cows graze among verdant pasture. Beyond, a tiled farmhouse with a white picket fence is nestled into foliage, while in the foreground, a farmer ambles through tremulous long grasses towards a homespun rickety bridge. It’s a picturesque rendering and typical of Boyle’s loose French-inspired handling.
Born in Lewisham, the son of a city barrister, Boyle was perhaps dissuaded from a career in the arts and found himself tethered to a desk within the austere surroundings of the War Office. His older brother, William, was an attorney and his grandfather was a high court judge, so evidently it was a bookish family of much academic endeavour.
Before long, the overbearing nature of his gainful employment proved too much for his liberal soul and he left for the effervescent streets of Paris. Here, he trained with a French artist who instilled in him a passion for painting outdoors - expression replaced rigour, while naturalism outshone contrivance.
In a press interview, Boyle’s son recalled his father as thankful to his tutor, who “showed him more of the use of a big brush in half an hour than anyone else could in a lifetime”. From this point on, nature became his studio. Indeed, he was so taken by the beauty of the natural world that on occasion he’d rise at 2am, travel to Kent with his easel and brushes, and endeavour to paint the sunrise. He explained to his son that he’d witnessed so many spectacular sights that he had to commit them to canvas so people believed him.
He approached nature akin to a modern French painter during the advent of Impressionism in France and was one of the first to regularly use a palette knife. As such, he was overlooked in England and would have achieved greater recognition had he returned to Paris. However, despite this, the hanging committee at the Royal Academy did approve several of his works, with a debut in 1884.
Painting “absolutely for the love”, Boyle lacked business acumen and refused to sell many of his finished creations. Indeed, it was left to his wife Emilie to negotiate with various London dealers in an effort to raise funds.
Following his death in 1930, a London newspaper published an obituary, which neatly summarised the artistic life of this consummate professional. “There is nothing about No. 24 Ryecroft Road, Lewisham, to hint that here laboured an artist who was recognised as a master by some of the greatest artists and art critics of the day. Yet when Mr George Boyle passed away at the age of 88, he left behind the fruits of a life devoted to art, and although that life is finished, the life of some of his pictures will go on.”
He’s represented in numerous public collections including at the William Morris Gallery, the National Gallery of Ireland, and Princeton University Art Museum.
Signed in the lower left and held in a later frame.
Learn more about George Boyle in our directory.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 17½” x 13½” / 44cm x 34cm
Year of creation: c. 1880
Provenance: Private collection, UK.
Condition: Cleaned. Canvas relined. Areas of fine and settled craquelure, as you would expect. The paint layer is stable. Frame in good condition with minor age-related wear.
Our reference: BRV2032
