Lot 105: Joseph Stannard (British, 1797-1830) Off Yarmouth

Joseph Stannard (British, 1797-1830)
Off Yarmouth
signed and dated 'JStannard 1830' (lower left)
oil on panel
31.1 x 42.5cm (12 1/4 x 16 3/4in).
Footnotes

Provenance
Lt Col IBH Benn.
Acquired by a private collector, UK, circa 1978.

Exhibited
W Boswell & Son, Tombland, Norwich, July, 1949, no.12

Literature
Harold Day, Life and Work of Joseph Stannard, Eastbourne, 1965, p.38, no.40 (as Rough seapiece)

Joseph Stannard was one of the most brilliant of the Norwich School of Painters; he would have achieved even greater renown had his career not been cut short at the age of thirty-three. In 1821 he studied the seventeenth century Dutch masters in Amsterdam. Off Yarmouth reflects not only his profound understanding of maritime life – he was an excellent oarsman – but also his study of painters such as Ludolf Backhuysen.

Stannard superbly evokes fishing boats in a choppy sea, with lowering clouds and a dashing rainstorm. The low viewpoint emphasizes the drama, while the jagged clouds part to reveal blue sky, indicating the exhilarating, swiftly changing weather of the East Anglian coast.

The present lot belonged to Lt Col IBH Benn, who owned several works by Stannard, including Off Corton, c.1829 (Norwich Castle Museum).