OLIVER CLARE (BRITISH, 1853-1927)

A Still-life with Grapes, Strawberries, a Peach & Plum

Oil on artist panel | Signed lower right "Oliver Clare"

Item # 302CJT27A-2

An intricate display of fruit arranged over an autumnal setting of foliage that seems to be changing color, the scene circles around a clipped bunch of grapes with the hunt of a large grape vine rising behind them and several grape leaves hanging in the background. Light is almost ecclesiastical as it surrounds the fruits, water dripping from the plum and peach while the focal point is clearly the high-chroma strawberries at the forefront of the image. This example is one of a pair of matched scenes presently in the gallery (the other example may still be in our stock, contact us for availability) that are both exquisitely detailed in Clare's usual intricate attention to detail. The painting showcases his almost signature stippled technique with an overall glazing to the surface that results in a delightful texture and translucency to the image throughout. The painting is signed in the lower right corner in his typical script and is housed in a simple modern frame.

ARTIST
Born to the still-life artist George Clare in 1853, Oliver Clare and his brother Vincent both pursued a very distinct and individual specialization in unusually precise, intricately detailed and finely finished still-life scenes, mostly of fruit and flowers. Together with his brother, Oliver studied under his father and developed heavily on the intricate textured stippling techniques of George Clare; he is generally considered to be the best painter from the Clare family. He exhibited extensively at the Royal Society of Birmingham Artists, showing no less than eighteen paintings there over the course of his career. While he spent most of his life in Birmingham, he spent the late 1870s and early 1880s living in London where exhibited between 1873 and 1883 at least two paintings the Royal Society of British Artists (Suffolk Street) and one at the Royal Academy. He further exhibited at the the Walker Art Gallery of Liverpool and the Manchester City Art Gallery.

Artist Listings & Bibliography:

• E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Vol. III, p. 1062
  
• A Dictionary of Artists who have exhibited works in the Principal London Exhibitions from 1760 to 1893, Algernon Graves, Kingsmead, 1973, p. 54
• Dictionary of British Art, Vol. IV, Victorian Painters: The Text, Christopher Wood, 1995, p. 100

Measurements: 6" x 9" [sight measurements of artist panel, slightly larger to the edges behind the frame]; 11 7/8" H x 15 1/8" W [frame]

Condition Report:
Exquisite original condition. Cleaned and sealed in traditional damar varnish by our conservator. Modern frame. Ready to place.