CLARE, OLIVER (English, 1853-1927) "Still Life with Fruit on a Mossy Bank." Signed and dated 1890, L.L. Oil on canvas, 9" x 12" (sight); 17˝" x 21" (framed). Price Category: C

The Clare family were Victorian artists who specialized in, and became famous for, their highly finished and precisely detailed fruit and flower paintings. The family consisted of George (1853-1900) and his three sons: David (born 1870), Oliver (1853-1927), and Vincent (1855-1930). All except David were artists. Oliver was born in 1853 and spent most of his artistic life in Birmingham. Though there are no records as to where he received his training, it is almost certain that he learned his craft from his father, as their styles, choice of subjects, and manners of composition are similar. Oliver was noted for his highly finished and detailed paintings of fruit and flowers. His paintings, often painted in pairs, demonstrated considerable skill in capturing the textures of fruit, especially grapes, plums, peaches, and berries. Clare's subjects are often set against mossy backgrounds, producing a more informal composition than many of his contemporaries. He worked mostly in Birmingham, exhibiting with the Royal Society of Artists there. He also lived in London in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. During this period he exhibited at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, the Manchester City Art Gallery, the Royal Academy, and the Royal Society of British Artists (London). While Oliver lived in Birmingham a local health firm commissioned him to paint still-lives so they could be reproduced on postcards and posters. Today his pictures are much sought after by collectors in the U.K., the U.S., and Japan. Provenance: Bonhams, London. November 2005. References: E. Bénézit, Dictionary of Artists (Gründ: 2006). J. Johnson, The Royal Society of British Artists: 1824-1893 (Antique Collectors Club: 1975). J. Johnson and A. Greutzner, The Dictionary of British Artists: 1880-1940 (Antique Collectors Club, 1976). Jeremy Maas, Victorian Painters (Cresset Press: London, 1969). Peter Mitchell, Great Flower Painters: Four Centuries of Floral Art (George Rainbird, Ltd.: London, 1973). Sidney H. Pavičre, A Dictionary of Flower, Fruit, and Still Life Painters (F. Lewis, Ltd.: London, 1964). Grant M. Waters, Dictionary of British Artists Working 1900-1950 (Eastbourne Fine Art Publishers: England, 1995). Christopher Wood, The Dictionary of Victorian Painters (Antique Collectors Club: England 1995).

Art in the Afternoon, L.L.C.
P.O. Box 620066
Middleton, WI 53562
608-469-2994; 608-836-6454
info@artintheafternoon.net