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| ARTIST: | David Cox Jnr. ARWS. |
| DATES: | British 1809 - 1885 |
| TITLE: | The Haymaker's Family |
| MEDIUM: | Watercolour |
| SIZE: | 44.5 x 72.5 cm |
| REMARKS: | Signed & dated 1843 |
| $NZ: | Category E |
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David COX Jnr ARWS. British 1809 - 1885 David Cox was the only child of renowed watercolourist and drawing master David Cox senior. Born in Dulwich and educated at Hereford, Cox studied art under his father, and the pair produced several works conjointly. Inevitably Cox junior adopted the principles and techniques he learned from Cox senior, and some examples were easily slotted into later editions of his father's drawing books. Similarly to Cox senior, lofty English and Welsh pastoral scenes dominate his oeuvre, in which the effects of wind and rain are explored with bold freedom. Cox junior’s larger landscapes display an individual character and distinction of their own, distinguishing the painter from his father. Cox junior was more willing to adopt modern proprietary colours, such as a particular acid green, which in contrast with dashes of pink became something of a hallmark. Further, unlike his father, he was keen to seek scenery to paint further afield. His various tours to the continent saw him explore France, Geneva and the Swiss Alps in 1869, and Italy. Almost every other summer, Cox travelled to Wales, Scotland (1855 and 1872), the Lake District (1875), and Devon (1877). While his father later converted to work primarily in oil, Cox junior remained faithful to watercolour throughout his career, tirelessly striving to improve his technique. It is unfortunate that quantities of poor imitations and forgeries of his father's work have been unfairly attributed to him. According to one obituarist, “Art has lost in him a Landscape Painter of the good old school… The remark has been made that it was artistically his misfortune to have been the son of his father; yet none admired his work more than his father himself.” (Academy, 12 Dec. 1886.) Although Cox’s works appear sentimental in their depiction of a nostalgic way of life threatened by everything associated with the Industrial Revolution, patient contemplation reveals that they are much more than a collection of pretty, prosaic pastorals. The present painting is demonstrative of all that Cox is admired for. His mastery of the watercolour medium is demonstrated in his success in capturing the freshness of the scene with spontaneity of treatment. Built up with short, dabbed brushstrokes the surface is animated with light, carefully balanced colour and movement. The open space is filled with a variety of detail and tonality, drawing us into the scene itself. Figures quietly go about their different activities, foliage is subtlety picked out in a mosaic of varying greens and one can almost feel the cool breeze that softly skims the trees and grass. Cox has translated a serene afternoon recorded in his sketchbook into a masterly piece of British landscape art which simultaneously calms and stimulates the viewer. Between 1827 – 1884 Cox exhibited four works at the Royal Academy, 579 works at the Old Watercolour Society (now Royal Watercolour Society), 87 works at the New Watercolour Society (now Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours) and one work at the Royal Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street. He was made an Associate of the Old Watercolour Society in 1848. Cox died in Streatham on 4 December 1885, and his studio sale was held at Christie’s, 14-15 April 1886. Today Cox’s works can be found at Victoria & Albert Museum, the British Museum and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. VICTORIA BAYLY |
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