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George Chambers Snr. OWCS.

The artist with family and friends in the garden of a Regency villa.

English School.

1803-1840.

Oil on canvas, signed with initials and dated 1833.

It was previously thought that Chambers had depicted himself with family and friends in the grounds of his own house at no. 6 Park Village West, sending his exhibits to the British Institution and Royal Society of British Artists for the 1834 exhibitions using that address.

However numbers 1-7 comprised a terrace so this cannot be the case. There are several villas in the same road and in the London County Council’s Survey of London: Volume 21, the Parish of St Pancras Part 3: Tottenham Court Road and Neighbourhood, ed. J R Howard Roberts and Walter H Godfrey (London, 1949), pp. 153-155, it states: The "Villas" comprising Park Village West and Park Village East are important examples of the romantic element introduced into domestic architecture by John Nash. John Summerson says of them that "they were among Nash's very last works and are full of interest. The houses are very small and often charmingly planned. Some are 'Italian' some 'Gothic,' some affect a kind of châlet style. Building this essay in the picturesque compensated him for having to leave out the clusters of villas he planned for the park itself. Trees, water, fanciful gables and balconies—all the properties of the romantic village scene as illustrated in the almanacs and the keepsakes are here. . . During the last years of Nash's life and after his death the villages were completed by his pupil and successor, James Pennethorne….

Park Village West lies within a triangle, with Albany Street on the west and the Regent's Canal to the north-east, the Barracks in Albany Street being to the south. The villas are grouped round an irregular horse-shoe line that leaves and re-enters Albany Street.

Therefore, it could be a nearby house but at that time only numbers 12, 17, 18 and 19 had been built. No 12 is a possibility as it belonged Dr James Jackson and they certainly knew each other as Jackson was a naval surgeon and doctor to William IV, Chambers' patron. Indeed, it might well have been because of Jackson that Chambers moved to Park Village. The problem with ascribing it no. 12 though is that the two-storey bow at the rear is on the right of the house whereas this has been portrayed on the left and there are some other architectural differences. Artistic license possibly could be the reason for some alteration to give a more visually pleasing aspect to the painting. If it is not depicting a visit to Dr Jackson at no.12, it could be another residence in the vicinity as there was a considerable number of Regency villas in and around Regent’s Park. It could be the residence of another unrecorded friend or perhaps a patron from the B.I., R.A. or the Royal Watercolour Society.

 

We are grateful to Raymond Osborne and Huon Mallalieu for their help in identifying the location portrayed in this painting.

Dimensions

49.7 x 61cms framed size 60 x 71.5 cms

Price on application





The BADA Standard

  • Since 1918, BADA has been the leading association for the antiques and fine art trade
  • Members are elected for their knowledge, integrity and quality of stock
  • Our clients are protected by BADA’s code of conduct
  • Our dealers’ membership is reviewed and renewed annually
  • Bada.org is a non-profit site: clients deal directly with members and they pay no hidden fees
Click here for more information on the BADA Standard