Lot 109: George Washington Brownlow (1835-1876)

All but lost
signed 'WBrownlow.' (lower left)
oil on canvas
21 x 30 in. (53.3 x 76.2 cm.)

London, Royal Society of British Artists, 1866, no. 747 (£84).

Brownlow's composition, a quintessential work of high Victorian genre, shows a group of children playing in the rock pools by the sea; a toy boat has gone adrift and the eldest boy prepares to retrieve it for his vigilant sister.

George Washington Brownlow specialised in figurative subjects. He lived in London and Suffolk, but also painted in Ireland and Northumberland, exhibiting at the Royal Academy (1860-75), the British Institution, and the Royal Society of British Artists. The present painting was shown at Suffolk Street, the R.S.B.A venue, in 1866; Brownlow's other submission that year, Findon fishermen mending their nets, perhaps giving us a clue to the whereabouts of the present scene. Findon is a historic village on the West Sussex coast.

A smaller version of this subject, measuring 9 x 13 in., was offered at Sotheby's London on 28 November 1972, lot 57.

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.