The Mill Pond at Poltesco, Ruan Minor, Cornwall, circa 1890–1900

WILFRID GABRIEL DE GLEHN NEAC. RP. RA. (1870–1951)

The Mill Pond at Poltesco, Ruan Minor, Cornwall, circa 1890–1900.

Oil on canvas.

63 x 76 cms 243⁄4 x 297⁄8 ins.

Provenance: The Artist’s Studio Estate; Atelier number 42.

Exhibited: Possibly London, Goupil Gallery, Exhibition of Pictures and Sketches by W.G. von Glehn & L. Monod, 1899.

Wilfrid's first real contact with Cornwall came in the 1890's through his uncle, Oswald von Glehn, a painter of romantic mythological subjects, who had studied under Burne Jones. Oswald introduced him to the Lizard Peninsular, on the south coast of Cornwall, an area to which Wilfrid would return on countless painting trips and social visits throughout his life, at one stage living at Cadgwith briefly before his marriage to Jane in 1904. In fact it was at Ruan Minor that Wilfrid and Jane spent the beginning of their honeymoon, staying in a cottage near to his sister's home at Inglewidden. There are many paintings by de Glehn of the local area often featuring his nephews and nieces who regularly accompanied them on holiday after their father's death in 1922.

However, The Mill Pond at Poltesco, Ruan Minor, Helston, Cornwall dates from a time much before these holidays with his sister's young family and was probably executed on one of de Glehn's visits to the area with his artistic uncle during the 1890's. It may have been among a number of Cornwall paintings exhibited alongside others depicting Brittany, Normandy and Venice at de Glehn's first exhibition in 1899, shared with his cousin Lucien Monod at the Goupil Gallery in London. Alternatively, the present work may have been conceived during the artist's extended visit to Cornwall between 1901 and 1902.

Price on application

This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance