Expert: Jeni Andrews-Fraser - 1/11/2008

Question
I recently bought a painting at an estate auction. It is titled "Near Brading" by James E. Meadows. It is on the Isle of Wight. Do you know in what year it was painted and could this be an original or a copy?

Thank you.

Answer
Hello Walter - and thank you for your question (my apologies for the delay in replying - I was caught in the flooding in the southwest of England!)

James Edwin Meadows was a London landscape painter,  the son of well known artist, James Meadows Senior, and came from a family with a strong artistic tradition.

Despite being based in London, James Edwin Meadows travelled extensively throughout Great Britain seeking inspiration for his landscapes, particularly concentrating on the Southern coastline. He frequently painted  views in Essex, Kent, Sussex, Surrey and the Isle of Wight.

James Edwin Meadows exhibited at the major London Galleries including the Royal Academy (1854-72), the British Institute and the Royal Society of British Artists.

I don't know the painting but suggest that it might have been painted around the mid-1860s.  Could it be an original?  The only real way to tell is to take the painting out of its frame and look for splashes of paint on the edges of the canvas or on the stretchers stretchers (the bits of wood that hold the picture in place and that are normally hidden by the frame.)  Even this is no guarantee of authenticity.  If there are paint splashes; if the surface of the canvas is not entirely smooth and you can discern brushmarks, blobs of paint or varnish, then you might have an original. If the surface is very uniform, it may be a print.  It takes some courage to remove a painting from its frame .. so if you prefer, a fine art dealer could appraise (and value) the work for you .. and perhaps give you an idea of its provenance.

Enjoy your painting.

Cheers
Jeni