Printed from Woolley & Wallis

Description

Helen Allingham RWS (1848-1926)

Gathering firewood

Signed H.Allingham (lower right)

Pencil and watercolour

53.6 x 43.6cm; 21 x 17in

Provenance:

Sotheby's, Belgravia, Victorian Drawings and Watercolours, 1 December 1981, lot 240;

P. Polak, London;

Sir Owen Aisher (1900-1993);

By descent to The Muro Collection

Literature:

Flora Thompson, The Illustrated Lark Rise to Candleford (Century Publishing, 1983), p.24;

Ina Taylor, Helen Allingham's England: An Idyllic View of Rural Life, (Webb & Bower Ltd., 1990), p.23

This collection of works by Helen Allingham (lots 180—192) have passed by descent from the personal collection of Sir Owen Aisher (1900-1993), one of the most noted collectors of her work. Sir Owen was the chairman of Marley Ltd., a building materials company with a particular specialism in roofing tiles. On behalf of the company, Sir Owen purchased a group of Allingham works which faithfully reproduced the materials of the buildings depicted. These became known as The Marley Collection, and were sold at Christie’s in 1991. The works offered here formed part of Sir Owen’s personal collection and hung at his home in Surrey.

The artist began her career as an illustrator for The Graphic magazine where she quickly gained a reputation for her fine figurative work. When she changed to watercolour painting, her early work reflected that time with a large central figure dominating the picture.

We are grateful to Annabel Watts for her assistance cataloguing the present work.