Kenneth Rowntree

watercolour/ sig lower right

Harry Moore-Gwyn, London

London, The Art Exhibition's Bureau, in conjuction with James Bourlet & Sons, Modern Trends in Watercolour, 1953

The sheet does not appear to be laid down and is in good overall condition. Held in simple wooden frame under glass; unexamined out of frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Kenneth Rowntree was an artist and illustrator who relished everyday, overlooked subjects, incorporating modernist space and traditional objects with an almost toy-like neatness that often verged on the abstract. Such an eye is evident in the present work, Rowntree creating a swirling pattern of colour and brushwork in the foliage of a back garden illuminated by a bold, yellow sun. A brick wall appears to run from the bottom right corner and a surreal like tree-trunk emerges from the bottom, all of which enhance an otherwise ordinary scene. It is interesting to compare with Edmund Warren’s sunlight in a wooded landscape painted a century before (lot 54); while different formal principles are at work, both artists share a delight in dappled light and succeed in adding a sense of enchantment to their work.

Rowntree attended the Ruskin School of Drawing in Oxford and then the Slade School of Fine Art in London. At the outbreak of war he became, like Richard Eurich, an Official War Artist - although he remained a conscientious objector. With a gift for evoking particular places, he took part in the Pilgrim Trust along with sixty other artists, commissioned by the government, to record the appearance and landscape of England and Wales before any changes caused by wartime activities and destruction. After the War he held his first solo exhibition at Leicester Galleries (1946) and in 1949 he became head of the Royal College of Arts mural painting studios. From 1959, he served as Professor of Fine Arts at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne which, alongside Richard Hamilton and Victor Pasmore, was one of the most progressive art schools in Britain.