SKU: 11849
Charles Cundall
(1890 - 1971)
Panoramic view of Sheffield
£5,000
Charles Cundall (1890 - 1971)
Signed and dated
Oil on panel
13 x 9 1/2 in. (33 x 24 cm)
Size:
Height – 33cm
Width – 24cm
Anticoli Corrado, a small village south of Rome, was famed for the
beauty of its inhabitants and had, since the nineteenth century, been
popular with Italian painters. Following in the footsteps of Colin Gill
the first Rome Scholar, Winifred Knights and Job Nixon spent the Summer
months of their scholarship in Anticoli. Knights refers to Cundall in a
letter written from the village, dated 28th May 1921: ‘Job’s friend
(Cundall, 14c Whitehead’s Grove, Chelsea) is arriving here in the
middle of June. Job says he would bring out my dresses. . .’
Knights’ first impression of Anticoli conjures up a similar image to
Cundall’s painting: ‘Anticoli is a fine place, the town is a pigsty, you
meet herds of swine running quite loose in every street’, letter to her
Auntie Millicent, January 1921).
Painter, potter and stained glass artist, born in Stratford, Lancashire. After working as a designer for Pilkington’s Pottery Company under Gordon Forsyth, Cundall studied at Manchester School of Art, obtaining a scholarship to the Royal College of Art, 1912. After World War I army service he returned to the Royal College in 1918, then from 1919 to 1920 attended the Slade, and furthered his studies in Paris. Cundall traveled widely in several continents and became noted for his panoramic pictures, such as Bank Holiday Brighton, in the Tate Gallery (accession no. NO4700). He was a member of NEAC, RP, RWS and other bodies and was a prolific RA exhibitor. He had first solo show at Colnaghi 1927. He was an Official War Artist in World War II, during which time he was sent to Quebec (1944). In the same year he was elected RA. His wife was the artist Jacqueline Pietersen.
His technical facility – especially when working on large panoramic canvases – was remarkable. His pictures are rich with texture, light and movement. He was equally at ease with aerial views, landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes, and was a master of crowd scenes. His work as an Official War Artist has never received the attention it merits.
