In a Welsh Valley by B.W. Leader
Large Hand-Colored Etching

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Welsh Valley
Welsh Valley Welsh Valley
Welsh Valley Welsh Valley
Benjamin Williams Leader, R.A. (1831-1923) (after)
Théophile-Narcisse Chauvel (1831-1910) (engraver)
In a Welsh Valley
Arthur Tooth & Sons, London, et al.: 1902 [later restrike]
Hand-colored etching
22.5 x 31.5 inches, mat opening
32.75 x 41.75 inches, frame
Sold, please inquire as to the availability of similar items.

Bucolic landscape of a narrow river winding through the valley of a Welsh mountain range. A woman and young man sit on the rocks of the riverbank enjoying the sunlit surroundings. Prints after Leader’s pastoral oil paintings of landscapes, such as this one, were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The print publisher, Arthur Tooth & Sons was a London art gallery, and Leader was listed as one of its distinguished artists in an 1890 issue of the British magazine Punch.

Benjamin Williams Leader was an English landscape painter. He was initially trained as a draftsman at the Government Schools of Design in his native Worcester, and entered the Royal Academy Schools in London in 1854, where he first exhibited his paintings. At this point he changed his name from Benjamin Leader Williams, to distinguish himself from the large Williams family of painters. Leader’s early landscapes show the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites, although his mature style was freer. He achieved great success with oil paintings of the English Midlands, the Thames valley and Wales. These works also became widely known in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through prints. Leader received the status of Academician at the Royal Academy in 1898. He exhibited there throughout his life -- his final showing was at age 91. He also showed work at the British Institution and the Birmingham Society of Artists. Today his works are in numerous British museums, including the Tate Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the National Gallery.

Théophile-Narcisse Chauvel was a French painter, engraver and lithographer, based in Paris. He studied at the School of Beaux-Arts and won a prize for history painting there. He debuted at the Salon in 1855. After 1859, he abandoned painting for printmaking, producing original prints, which he periodically exhibited at the Salon from 1864 to 1904. He also became a notable engraver of works after other artists, notably Corot, Jean-François Millet, Millet, Théodore Rousseau, John Everett Millais and Benjamin Williams Leader. These were published by Galeries Goupil, Georges Petit and Arthur Tooth & Sons, as well as periodicals such as L’Art. Chauvel received numerous prizes for his artwork and was recognized for his achievements by being made an officer of the French Legion of Honor in 1896.

Arthur Tooth & Sons was a prominent fine art gallery in London, founded in 1842 and active through at least the mid 1970s. Until the 1880s, it concentrated on 18th- and 19th-century British painting, thereafter expanding into Old Masters and contemporary art. Arthur Tooth had a New York branch from the 1900s until 1924. In the mid 20th century, artists associated with the gallery included Howard Hodgkin. In 1890, the firm was the subject of lighthearted praise by Punch, the popular British magazine: “THE TOOTHERIES.—‘TOOTH's Gallery’ always strikes as a somewhat misleading appellation. It always appears to have more to do with palates than pictures, and to be more concerned with gums than gold frames. No doubt the head of the firm of Messrs. ARTHUR TOOTH AND SONS is a wise TOOTH, so let him christen his gallery the ‘Arthurnæum.’ He is a TOOTH that you cannot stop, he is always coming out, and this autumn he comes out stronger than ever with a most interesting and varied collection. Excellent examples you may find of J.B. BURGESS, J.C. HOOK, BASTIEN LEPAGE, TADEMA, VICAT COLE, PETER GRAHAM, MILLAIS, LEADER, C. CALTHROP, MARCUS STONE, and other notables.”

Complete copyright information: Copyright 1902 by Mess. Arthur Tooth & Sons, Publishers, 5 & 6 Haymarket, London,41 Boulevard Des Bapucines, [Paris], 299 Fifth Ave. New York, & Messr. Stiefbeld & Co., Berlin

References:

“Art Trade: Arthur Tooth & Sons, London and New York (Tate).” Central Registry of Information. http://www.lootedart.com/InformationByCountry/United%20States/
Art%20Trade/Orcid_GSF_37684_5227199074.asp (14 June 2005).

Bénézit, E. Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs. France: Librairie Gründ, 1966. Vol. 2, p. 465 (Chauvel).

“Benjamin Williams Leader.” Artnet.com. 2005. http://www.artnet.com/artist/554615/benjamin-williams-leader.html (14 June 2005).

“Benjamin Williams Leader.” The Grove Dictionary of Art. New York: Macmillan. 2000. Artnet.com. http://www.artnet.com/library/04/0497/T049760.asp (14 June 2005).

Ripley, Paul. “Benjamin Williams Leader.” ARC Art Renewal Center. http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/art.asp?aid=852&order=m (14 June 2005).

“The Tootheries.” Punch, or the London Charivari. Vol. 99. 1 November 1890. Online at Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12934/12934-h/12934-h.htm (14 June 2005).

“Théophile-Narcisse Chauvel.” The Grove Dictionary of Art. New York: Macmillan. 2000. Artnet.com http://www.artnet.com/library/01/0161/T016188.asp (14 June 2005).