Saturday, December 7, 2019

Leonard Squirrell's Scenes of East Anglia

Leonard Squirrell, watercolor over pencil
Leonard Russell Squirrell, R.W.S., R.I., R.E. (1893-1979) was a versatile British artist who captured compositions of the architecture that was disappearing in 20th century.

Leonard Squirrell, watercolor over pencil
According to a recent book on Squirrell, he was known as the 'Grand Old Man of East Anglian Painting', "beloved by many people well outside the boundaries of East Anglia and admired by many more as an outstanding topographical artist. Ranked by many collectors and connoisseurs with John Sell Cotman, Thomas Girtin, Philip Wilson Steer (who taught him) and other famous East Anglian artists." 

Leonard Squirrell, Etching
According to a book on sketching from the 1930s,  Squirrell's pastel work "comes to us as a revelation," because he would do careful lead pencil studies before attempting his pastel drawings on tone paper.
Leonard Squirrell, pastel
"For him these are more than mere sketches, embodying not only the conception but all the study necessary to the production of a completely worked out pastel."
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4 comments:

  1. He also painted many railway carriage posters, featuring scenes of town and village across the UK.

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  2. So many amazing artists throughout history that I've never heard of.

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  3. I love this sort of work, he draws/paints so tight, but then goes wonderfully wild with his sky in the pastel piece.

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  4. It's hard to decern in the digital image; are they pencil drawings in-filled with watercolor, or watercolor paintings delineated in pencil first. Or somewhere between and it doesn't matter?

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