This charming late 19th-century oil painting by British artist Rowland Holyoake (1861-1928) depicts a girl carrying wildflowers while wearing a straw hat decorated with the same. It was previously valued by Christie’s, London, at £5,000-£7,000. Holyoake was a Royal Academy trained painter of portraits, scenes and landscapes.
Clutching a freshly picked curated posy of spritely blooms, she’s perhaps looking across the garden for further additions. Her hat, adorned with delicate poppies and other flora, is decorated beautifully. She’s at home amid the resplendent delights of nature.
Born in London, Rowland Holyoake’s father was the distinguished figure painter, William Holyoake (1834-1894), a regular exhibitor at the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) and a popular curator at Royal Academy Schools. Given this, it’s conceivable that, from an early age, the young man was taught the rudiments of drawing. His father had moved to the capital from Birmingham, where it’s likely that he worked in the circle of John Breakspeare (1856-1914), the still life painter. He furnished Rowland with the middle name of ‘Breakspeare’, possibly as a tribute.
Following the death of Rowland’s mother, he was raised for a time by his uncle Austin Holyoake, a painter and publisher, while his father moved into a boarding house. This coincided with his enrolment at the Royal Academy Schools. In 1881, his precocious skill as a draughtsman was rewarded when the Royal Academy accepted one of his chalk drawings for display via ‘The National Art Competition’, which was followed a year later by a silver medal. A critic described him as a “worthy son of a worthy father” who “is steadily advancing in his profession”. In 1884, at just 23, he debuted at the Royal Academy with ‘For The Banquet’ and continued to exhibit a further 22 works over the course of 20 years. He was also shown frequently at the RBA.
He developed a reputation for both portraits and scenes depicting predominantly female subjects. Like his father, he was a relatively bold colourist, which uplifted the underlying finesse of his portrayals. There’s a vague echo of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in some of his works and his oeuvre could also be loosely-connected with the ‘Aesthetic Movement’. But equally, one can see the influence of the Birmingham figure painters, such as William Arthur Breakspeare RBA RBSA (1856-1914). Indeed, Holyoake lived next to Breakspeare during the early 1890s.
When into his later years, he lived alone in Tufnel, Islington and, perhaps due to the onset of World War I, took employment as a clerk at the ‘Machine Gun Records’. It’s unclear whether he continued to paint and sadly it appears he dropped off the artistic map.
Rowland Holyoake worked during a transformative time for British art and during his early years, he would’ve been considered as progressive. He brought together the learned teachings of his father with the latest emerging ideas of modernity. Underpinning his success was his aptitude for drawing, gained after years of patient study, and meticulous observation.
He’s represented at the Columbia Museum of Art in South Carolina.
Signed/dated in the upper left and held in a late 19th-century ‘Watts’ frame, which is probably original.
Learn more about Rowland Holyoake in our directory.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 25” x 29” / 64cm x 74cm
Year of creation: 1888
Provenance: Victorian Pictures, Drawings & Watercolours, Christie’s, London, 4 November 1999, lot 129 (Appraised at £5,000-£7,000) / British & European Art, Bonhams, London, 1-10 July 2024, lot 110 (Appraised at £3,000-£5,000) / Private collection, UK.
Condition: Cleaned. Canvas relined. Frame with various marks and showing its age.
Artist’s auction maximum: £6,200 for ‘Portrait Of A Beauty with A Chinese Parasol’, Oil on canvas, Bonhams, European, Victorian & British Impressionist Art, London, 25 November 2014 (lot 433).
Our reference: BRV2088
