Working in an Impressionist style, he exhibited his pastoral landscapes regularly at the Royal Academy of Arts between 1890-1942 to wide acclaim. In a review of Arnesby Brown’s work in September 1900, The Studio Magazine coined the phrase ‘New Romantic’ to describe his blend of poetic feeling and plein air observation.
At Bishop & Miller (20/12% buyer’s premium) on October 19, a typical beach scene by Arnesby Brown sold for £8400. A label to the verso of the signed 19½ x 16in (50 x 40cm) oil stated it was an original sketch for a large painting he exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1932.
It came together with a letter sent on Royal Academy of Arts headed paper by the artist in 1935, in which he refers to the study in the letter as ‘one of my best’.
Oliver Miller, managing director at the Stowmarket, Suffolk, auction house, said the correspondence was of “great interest to many bidders who all agreed that it was one of his best works. In the end the painting was successfully bought by a keen collector.”
