30 Sir William Russell Flint RA - Burlington Paintings
30 Sir William Russell Flint RA - Burlington Paintings
30 Sir William Russell Flint RA - Burlington Paintings
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16 Charles Towne<br />
1763 - 1840<br />
Charles Towne was born in Wigan in 1763. He was trained as a coach painter and by the age<br />
of 17 was set up in the town as a japanner and decorative painter. Towne also studied<br />
landscape painting receiving instruction from John Rathbone, the 'Manchester Richard<br />
Wilson'. In 1787, Towne exhibited his first landscape at the recently founded Liverpool Society<br />
for Promoting Painting and Design. Towne also made copies of George Stubbs' two paintings<br />
exhibited there, 'Harvesters' and 'Reapers'. By the 1790s, he was becoming an established<br />
animal painter with a style based on his study of Stubbs.<br />
Towne was also very interested in the work of the Dutch seventeenth century landscape<br />
painters. Artist W.S. Sparrow wrote that "his landscapes are minutely detailed and have a<br />
Dutch mannerism; animals and figures are put in with diligent and affectionate care". His<br />
landscapes were either romanticised versions of real topography or purely imaginary visions.<br />
The lyricism of Towne's setting heightened the solid reality and presence of his animals.<br />
On his first visit to London in 1796, Towne received favourable mention from Joseph<br />
Farington, who noted that the artist had 'six months work bespoke'. Towne began exhibiting<br />
at the Royal Academy in 1799. Although he spent the first decade of the new century in<br />
London, where he became friends with George Morland and de Loutherbourg, Towne<br />
achieved most in Liverpool, where he settled in 1811. He was elected Vice-President of the<br />
new Liverpool Academy of Artists in 1812 and again the following year, and continued<br />
exhibiting there and in Manchester until 1825.<br />
Although Towne is best-known for his paintings of horses, especially hunters, he studied<br />
every aspect of rural life and sport. He also won commissions to paint cattle, favourite dogs,<br />
hunting and shooting scenes, and occasional pieces in the Grand Manner with such titles as<br />
'Tiger growling over her prey'. His works can be found in the Walker Gallery, Liverpool.<br />
A Chestnut Hunter with his Groom in a Landscape<br />
Signed and Dated 1819<br />
Oil on Canvas<br />
19 3 /4 x 25 1 /4 ins / 50.2 x 64.1 cms<br />
Provenance: Arthur Ackerman & Son