William Barnes Wollen (1857–1936) was born in Leipzig he was educated in London before beginning a formal art education at the Slade School. In his early career he painted sporting scenes but gradually developed into a painter of battle scenes.
Landscape at Asheham House, Lewes by Roger Eliot Fry (1866 – 1934)
Monk’s House, where this painting hangs, was bought in 1919 by the writer Virginia Woolf and her husband, the political activist, journalist and editor Leonard Woolf. Its tranquil location in the village of Rodmell, three miles south-east of Lewes, afforded them a relaxing space away from the bustle of London.
The Onion Boy by Hilda Montalba (1846-1919)
Hilda Montalba was an English-born artist, one of four daughters of the Swedish-born artist Anthony Rubens Montalba. In the later part of the nineteenth century the family was based in Venice having moved there from their home in Notting Hill. The landscapes and the citizens of Venice proved a fruitful source of inspiration much as they had done for artists for centuries before this.
Sarah Lethieullier, Lady Fetherstonhaugh (1722-1788), as Diana by Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (1708 – 1787)
This portrait of Sarah Lethieullier portrayed as the mythological figure Diana is one of a pair commissioned by her husband Sir Matthew Fetherstonhaugh. Its complimentary painting is a portrait of himself dressed as a hunter.
Elizabeth Louisa Penelope Theobald, Countess of Stamford (d.1959) and her two children, Roger Grey, later 10th Earl of Stamford (1896-1976) and Lady Jane Grey, later Lady Turnbull (1899-1991) by John Ernest Breun (1862-1921)
This elegant family portrait commemorates Mothering Sunday which falls this year on 11th March. Elizabeth Theobald was the wife of Roger Grey who, in 1890 on the death of his first cousin Harry Grey, 8th Earl of Stamford in Africa, inherited the titles of Earl of Stamford and Baron Grey of Groby and the 3,000-acre estate at Dunham Massey. They married in London in 1895 when Elizabeth was 30 and Roger fifteen years her senior. Within a year of their wedding they had a son, Roger, and in 1899 a daughter, Jane.
Romeo and Juliet: The Tomb Scene by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734 – 1797)
Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), a landscape and portrait painter of international renown was born and died in Derby. He has been called the first painter to truly capture the spirit of the Industrial Revolution.
A View of the Peak: The Dove Holes by John Harris (1715-1755)
This commanding view of The Dove Holes was one of two survivors of a set of three paintings on the theme of views of the Peak District created by the artist Harris in 1769. (more…)
The Music Party by Alfred Tidey (1808 – 1892)
This charming and unassuming watercolour painting could easily be dismissed as a rather twee genre picture popular with the Victorian middle-classes. Yet it hides an intriguing tale of friendship, international travel and deposed dictators.
The Black Brunswicker by John Everett Millais (1829 – 1896)
Although this painting was completed in 1860 and relates to an event some decades earlier its familiar theme and humanity still resonate strongly today. The story relates to the engraving which hangs on the wall. It is a copy of a painting by Jacques-Louis David depicting Napoleon crossing the Alps which alludes to the fate of the young man.
Snow at Wharfdale II by Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912 – 2004)
Wilhelmina (or Willie) Barns-Graham was born in St Andrews, Fife, on 8 June 1912. As a young child she showed signs of creative ability and wanted to be an artist from a very early age.
Michael Escolme 