James Alphege Brewer was born in London in 1881. He is a well-known British architectural painter and etcher. He attended the Westminster School of Art, He excelled at depicting popular tourist sites. These subjects were often etched and included cathedrals, colleges, palaces, and other historic edifices. His later prints included some very fine colour woodcut landscapes - usually featuring canals and lakeside scenes.
Brewer exhibited at the Royal Academy of Art, the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour, the Paris Salon of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, and in shows at the Royal Cambrian Academy. He was also a member of the Society of Graphic Art and the Ealing Art Group - he was their first Honorary Art Secretary and then Honorary Art Chairman.
This is a wonderful colour woodcut by Brewer. It is signed below and titled in pencil: The Lone Pine. It is probably one of his finest prints and it reminds me a little of the similar Alpine compositions by Oscar Droege. It dates to the late 1930s when Brewer started to produce these evocative landscape scenes. Without his use of black keyline blocks - and the subtle use of stippled colours - Brewer's woodcuts often look more like watercolours.
In his lifetime Brewer didn't widely exhibit his woodcuts - and today he is not as well known as his fellow British artists such as Eric Slater. Today his woodcuts are still rather under-valued works - but are certainly most attractive ones and will display well in an Art Deco interior.
This one shows an image of a tall pine tree with an olive green canopy and twiggy broken branches further down the trunk. The pine tree stands on a rocky cliff top - and behind is the stump of another tree - which has weathered away. In the distance, you can see ghostly forms depicting the mountain peaks of an Alpine ridge. The sky above is a nice clear blue. It is certainly a most atmospheric image.
Dimensions: the frame is 58 x 42. The image size is 35.5 x 23.5 cm.
As you can see in my photographs – it is nicely presented and ready for you to hang on your wall. It has a new cream-coloured window mount and a simple black wooden frame. There are no condition issues with the print.
UK Posting Only. It will be sent to you with Parcelforce Recorded post. This will cost £10 and applied to your order at the checkout.