Beside the Old Church Gate Farm, Smarden, Kent

Details

Helen Allingham, R.W.S. (1848-1926)
Beside the Old Church Gate Farm, Smarden, Kent
signed 'H Allingham' (lower left)
pencil and watercolour heightened with touches of bodycolour and with scratching out
9¾ x 13 in. (24.8 x 33 cm.)

Provenance

with M. Newman, 1954.
Sir Owen Aisher.
The Marley Collection of Watercolours; Christie's, London, 19 September 1991, lot 9, where purchased by the present owner.

Literature

I. Taylor, Helen Allingham's England, London, 1990, illustrated p. 8.
A. Watts, Helen Allingham's Cottage Homes Revisited, Surrey, 1994, illustrated p. 34.

Exhibited

Guildford, Guildford House Gallery, London, The City of London International Art Fair, Royal Institute of British Architects, Birmingham, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, The Marley Collection Loan Exhibition: Cottages of Yester-year, 9 July 1988-29 April 1990, no. 34.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The county of Kent provided Allingham with a wide variety of subjects to paint. Her watercolours include views of the coast, the landscape as well as its architecture.

Many of the substantial buildings in Smarden caught the artist's eye when she visited in the 1890s. The magnificent medieval building, of which a detail is depicted in this painting, was the property of a wealthy cloth merchant. The building provided accommodation for the owner as well as warehousing for cloth and still stands today.

We are grateful to Annabel Watts for her help in preparing this catalogue entry.

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