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Artists Who Painted Birmingham Landscapes

The Northampton artist, Thurston Laidlaw Shoosmith (1865 - 1933) painted this view entitled " A Birmingham Canal" . An unusually dark watercolour painting. Viv.ImageUploadedByTapatalk1345469232.482099.jpg
 
Hi BordesleyExile. My intuition tells me it's somewhere near the Broad St/Baskerville House area. the chimney stacks seem to suggest that area. But I'm not too certain and others may be able to enlighten us. I do like the way in which Shoosmith's highlighted the people along the wharf in this painting, almost trying to remind us that people are equally important in the landscape. Viv.
 
smudge 1.jpg 1936.
Winter scene, junction of Spring Hill and Dudley Road, Brookfields. The original picture was painted by Ron 'SMUDGE' Smith.
I have in the past posted a photo of this exact location.
 
My favorite canal painting.I think the artist is Brian Rollings,i hope he doesn't mind me posting it .moss
 

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Post 87, thats a very dramatic painting, I like the courting couple on the right, a nice touch. The Birmingham canal system is a favourite subject of mine, or was until they 'tarted' it up, although I agree parts did need renovating. Canal scenes are a very popular subject at local exhibitions and are are almost guaranteed to sell, I personally have sold a dozen at least at the RBSA Gallery when it was in New St. Eric
 
The Ron "Smudge" Smith painting is heartwarming, Stitcher. I seem to remember that there was a northern painter who depicted people leaving work enmasse for home...
Its unusual to see a painting set a night, Moss. I wonder if Brian Rollings committed the view to memory & painted once he got home or if he sat there at his easel to do the painting?
Thank you Stitcher & Moss for posting.
 
Bordesley exile, I presume you are referring to Lowry, another 'naive' painter, although a far more famous one. I love Lowrys work, it says everything about Northern working life. Re Smudge Smith ,am I right in thinking he died recently. I have, or rather did have a print by Smudge of match day at Villa Park, seems to have dissapeared. His paintings must have taken him ages to complete, they are so highly detailed, every brick on the wall and every tile on the roof instead of merely suggesting a few, what patience. Eric
 
ChrisM said:
Another picture on my walls (in addition to Baker's and a much prized watercolour by a certain Eric!) is a rather nice oil painting entitled "The Gravel Pit, Four Oaks" which is a Sutton Park scene. It is by William J. King. I have no idea of its date although I suspect Victorian/Edwardian from a couple of distant figures which it contains; nor whether King was a Birmingham artist. But he certainly painted what can now be described as a Birmingham scene.

Chris
Click to expand...

I love this thread so many beautiful paintings and drawings. Chris your painting reminds me of the path we used to go along to the"beach" at big Bracebridge.
 
Perhaps it's one and the same place, Wendy. I'll not go off-topic by posting it here but I find I have a later, bleaker image of what is almost certainly the same place in my website - a photograph, not a paimting, and dating from the winter of 1941-2. It's here, halfway down the page. Click on it to magnify.

Chris
 
Yes, Eric, I was thinking of Lowrie but did not name him in case anyone got offended. Personally I think the resonances are a compliment both ways. Thank you for adding some detail to Smudge Smith as if he did fewer paintings due to the time it took it might help explain why I could not find any of his pictures on the web. Shame, as I would have enjoyed seeing more.
 
Knocking off time. 1939.jpg 1939.
Another Ron 'Smudge' Smith painting and it is Knocking off time at Lucas's.
I posted a photo of this location on the King Street Thread.
 
Thank you for posting the Ron "Smudge" Smith painting, Stitcher. Its obvious that its painted with such affection & the artist has such a distinctive style. too. What a pleasure it is to look at.
 
I have one more of Smudge Smiths but we have been entertaing tonight and as it is late now I will post it tomorrow.
 
Summer Lane..jpg1930s.
On the back of this one are the words "Summer Lane Post Office and the only pub that really was in Summer Lane, it was called 'The Vine' and it was on the junction of the Lane and New John Street West, Hockley, Birmingham 19." Painted by Ron 'Smudge' Smith.
 
Very interesting and informative Thread folks. Some time ago on the Ann Street thread, I posted a painting of this historic old Street by the Birmingham artist Allen Edward Everitt, born 1842 at 59 Newhall Street, died 1882. In 1986 the Birmingham Museums and Art gallery published a delightful book of his work entitled “Town & Country in the Victorian West Midlands”.

One of the most interesting paintings is this view of St Martins Church, from Moat Lane, and dated 1853. In spite of this well photographed and documented St Martins Church, I never knew that there was a building (Henry Clarkes), in St Martins Lane, which ‘bridged’ Moat Lane so attractively.

Oddly, the photo of the same view almost a hundred years later bears a spooky resemblance to the buildings in the painting, although the latter were demolished in 1853 to build the Markets.

The mention of the Swan with Two Necks pub is also interesting. Not sure from the caption narrative whether Henry Clarke’s ‘bridge’ building is the pub itself, as the building on the right hand side of Moat Lane with the Lamp outside may also be a pub? Anyway, whatever the case, there seems to have been two ‘Swan with Two Necks’ pubs in that area, which I will discuss more of in my next post....


Moat Lane painting narrative.jpg Moat Row St Martins 1948.jpg Moat Lane 1974.jpg
 
The curving pavement where Moat Lane joins St Martins Lane can just be seen , together with part or most of the Swan with Two Necks on this 1840 engraving of St Martins Lane . Incidently I am surprised neither the 1839 SPUK ot the 1824 Pigott smith map shows the bridge, but makes it appear as a normal junction.

St_Martins_Lane_1840A.jpg
 
Joe McKenna, in his first volume of Central Birmingham pubs, has the SWTN at 8 St Martins Lane, facing the Parish Church, so that would suggest it is indeed Henry Clarke’s building in Everitt’s painting. Apparently dating from 1822, and being demolished in 1841, the Swan with Two Necks was actually depicted in the tile-work in the Woodman.

Then in his second volume of Central Birmingham pubs, he also records a Swan with Two Necks at 53 High Street, way down Deritend, almost opposite the Rainbow. This house was originally named the Swan Vaults and was licensed by the beginnings of the 16[SUP]th[/SUP] century, and undergoing the name change to Swan with Two Necks circa 1889, and the pub continued to serve until 1907 when it disappeared when the High Street was widened”.

This pub has been featured earlier in a painting on this Thread, and mikejee produced a map of its location in Post 46.

I then found the SWTN of St Martins Lane wrongly assigned to the High Street premises in the Digbeth and Deritend Local History publication of 1987 entitled ‘Tyme Gentlemene Please’, appended below…..just goes to show, captions can sometimes be wrong, as Phil and Mike are always reminding me.. but anyone got a photo of the more recent one?


Swan with Two Necks Bull Ring Tile Scene.jpg Swan Vaults 53 High Street Deritend 1840.jpg
 
Another from the brush of Everitt showing Farm House in Sparkbrook. No idea what has happened to the place now, but the Google shot doesn't seem to hold out much hope of survival...



Farm Sampson Rd Painting.jpg Lloyds House.jpg
 
Thank you for posting the artwork of Lloyd's farm, Dennis. It is always a joy to see Everitt's work & that picture is new to me. Farm is run by a housing organisation & is protected by a formidable fence situated close to the property. Farm itself appears to be in good repair. The real farm which had stood close by was demolished & is now grass parkland.
 
Dennis

I'm almost certain that Bromford Housing Association rescued Lloyd House a couple of years back and converted it into flats. It couldn't have taken much work because a few years previous to that the whole building was renovated.
 
Here's another potential conundrum. A little while ago, when you were discussing the work of Warren Blackham, whom I naturally have on my wall, as you do, the image below looked very familar to that of a photo i recently posted on another planet. The similarities are remarkable. The post was a query about the Pub with the lamp, and of course, Phil and mikejee concurred it was the Red Lion. Note that Blackham died in 1906 and the photo is dated 1903. Was the photo a model for the painting? Nah...surely not? Anyway, a good excuse to post them both again. I LOVE that painting...


Up Digbeth Painting.jpgBull Ring Pigs in High St 1903.jpg
 
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Another nice drawing of an ancient House in Well Street by Everitt, similar to Assinder's Tripe House, which features on this Forum quite often...


Digbeth Old House painting .jpgAssinders Tripe House Painting with narrative .jpgAssinders Tripe House well st .jpg
 
Dennis
The text states that the drawing was a house in High St. Have you put on the wrong picture?
 
mikejee said:
Dennis
The text states that the drawing was a house in High St. Have you put on the wrong picture?
Click to expand...

No. Maybe the wrong era. I thought the Upper end of High St was called Well Street in them days? The pics, of Tripe House and the Old house were side by side, and the Tripery was in Well Street. I may be guilty of error 'by association' is all?
 
mikejee said:
The curving pavement where Moat Lane joins St Martins Lane can just be seen , together with part or most of the Swan with Two Necks on this 1840 engraving of St Martins Lane . Incidently I am surprised neither the 1839 SPUK ot the 1824 Pigott smith map shows the bridge, but makes it appear as a normal junction.

St_Martins_Lane_1840A.jpg%20
Click to expand...



Well I just love a challenge, so here it is, in Ackerman's Pictorial Map of 1847. Shown as a bridge in St Martins Lane...


Bull Ring Map 1847.jpg
 
Anyone ever heard or know of this guy, W C Keene, who drew this lovely picture of the Tripe House on the cover of this book?



The Story of Bhams Growth Cover .jpg
 
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