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Lot Essay
One of the most enduring subjects created by Atkinson Grimshaw is the suburban lane with its high walls, trees, a partly hidden mansion, and a singly figure, usually female, walking along a leaf strewn road. The compositional motif was first created in the early 1870s, when Grimshaw and his family moved to Knostrop Hall, a 17th Century manor house on the eastern edge of Leeds.
Regarding the singular effect that Grimshaw achieved, Alexander Robertson, curator of Leeds City Art Gallery has written, 'The criticism that Grimshaw's paintings shows 'no marks of handling or brushwork,' hints at a working method apparently mysterious, or even suspect. However, this was certainly not the case. Grinshaw normally used a lead-white ground or a buff tinted one. He usually underpainted in black and raw umber where the shadows or dense areas were to be. On to this surface he scumbled his broken color, which allowed the light, so important in his work, to come back through: this helps to explain the large number of bristle hairs frequently found in this layer of the paint surface. He would then 'draw in', with black or whatever, the surface local color' (A. Robertson, Atkinson Grimshaw, London, 1988, p. 107).
In addition to the shimmering effects of light in the distance, Grimshaw dazzles the viewer in the foreground with his technique. Sand and sawdust are incorporated into the paint to create a richly textured impasto. The ruts created in the muddy road, and the light reflected in the puddles is thus described with heightened veracity.
Regarding the singular effect that Grimshaw achieved, Alexander Robertson, curator of Leeds City Art Gallery has written, 'The criticism that Grimshaw's paintings shows 'no marks of handling or brushwork,' hints at a working method apparently mysterious, or even suspect. However, this was certainly not the case. Grinshaw normally used a lead-white ground or a buff tinted one. He usually underpainted in black and raw umber where the shadows or dense areas were to be. On to this surface he scumbled his broken color, which allowed the light, so important in his work, to come back through: this helps to explain the large number of bristle hairs frequently found in this layer of the paint surface. He would then 'draw in', with black or whatever, the surface local color' (A. Robertson, Atkinson Grimshaw, London, 1988, p. 107).
In addition to the shimmering effects of light in the distance, Grimshaw dazzles the viewer in the foreground with his technique. Sand and sawdust are incorporated into the paint to create a richly textured impasto. The ruts created in the muddy road, and the light reflected in the puddles is thus described with heightened veracity.