Lot 100: Ann Fearon Walke (British, 1890-1965) Portrait of a gentleman in a Spanish cloak (Reverend Bernard Walke) 127 x 101.5 cm. (50 x 39 15/16 in.)

Portrait of a gentleman in a Spanish cloak (Reverend Bernard Walke)
signed 'Ann Walke' (lower left), inscribed 'Mrs Ann Fearon Walke/St. Hilary/Nr. Marazion/Cornwall/Portrait of a gentleman in a Spanish cloak' (on a label attached verso)
oil on canvas
127 x 101.5 cm. (50 x 39 15/16 in.)

The present lot is a portrait of Ann Walke's husband, the Reverend Bernard Walke. Between 1912 and 1936 Bernard Walke oversaw the Parish of St. Hilary, on the shore of Mount's Bay, near Marazion. The couple were closely associated with many of the Newlyn and Lamorna artists, among them Dame Laura Knight. Under Bernard Walke's auspices, St Hilary's Church was decorated with works by many artists.

A charcoal drawing of Bernard Walke, c.1912 by Dame Laura Knight is in the collection of Penlee House Museum and Gallery. The Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro also have a large oil on canvas of Bernard Walke and his Mother by Ann Walke.

Ann Walke studied studied in London under Augustus John and William Orpen, and exhibited at many London and provincial galleries between 1909 and 1940.