Edward Seago (1910-1974), ‘A Grey Day on the Colne'

Edward Seago RBA ARWS RWS (1910-1974); signed)
A Grey Day on the Colne
20th century
Watercolour on paper
Dimensions: 15 1/2'' x 11'' ins. (24 1/2'' x 21'' ins. framed)

Titled 'A Grey Day on the Colne,' Edward Seago has masterfully captured the impression of shimmering light on fishing boats and yachts on the river Colne, reflected here in the intermate interplay between light and shadow, sky and sea. The Colne was one of the artist's favourite subjects, here singularly painted on a drisly English day with the sun only just beginning to break through the clouds, thus making this seascape an important part of Seago's ouvre.

Edward Seago was a member of the Royal Society of British Artists from 1946, and the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours from 1959. He painted numerous English landscapes, notably in Norfolk, where he settled, but also produced a large body of work abroad. Much of his work was Post-Impressionist in atmosphere. His rapid brushwork captures reflections of light, occassionally enveloping his subjects in a diffuse, Turner-esque haze. He exhibited in London, Glasgow, New York, Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles, Oslo and Brussels. He held his first solo exhibition in London in 1944; two years later, he exhibited paintings depicting the war in Italy when he was Official Artist to the Italian Campaign. A later exhibition at St. James's Palace in 1957, featured a series of paintings executed during a world tour accompanying the Duke of Edinburgh, a keen patron of the artist's.

Provenance:
P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London;
John Noott Galleries, Broadway, 1995;
Private Collection, United Kingdom.