Studio RT Ltd

Description

We are delighted to offer this wonderful watercolour by the renowned Victorian artist George Arthur Hickin, who has signed the painting G. Hickin in the lower right hand corner. The painting depicts a large brown hen with her brood of chicks in a cottage garden, with the cockerel and another hen in the background. The attention to detail in superb, as is the dandelion 'clock' to the left hand side. This is quite a large watercolour for this artist and a lot of his works are not much more than half this size.

George Arthur Hicken was a landscape and bird painter, particularly poultry, in both oils and watercolours, although his paintings of poultry in both oils and watercolours fetch the highest prices. The record for one of watercolours in recent years is £1,200 for a 12" x 9" painting of a hen and chicks.

George was born on the 6th June 1822 in Douglas, Isle of Man, where his parents lived for 3 years before returning to Birmingham, where he was baptised in 1825. There is virtually no information about his early life or where he studied art, or if indeed he did, a he may have been self taught. He did not study under his father who was a gun maker. On 22nd October, 1857, he married Martha Bagot at St. Saviours church in Liverpool and they lived in Everton for a while. By the 1871 Census, they had two sons Edwin James, 1870-1942, who became a photographer and William E, 1865-1948 who was a pharmacist and the famjily were living at 207 Albert Road, Aston, Warwickshire. This address was confirmed by his last submission to the Royal Academy in 1880. In between 1861 and 1871, the family had lived in Greenwich, London, which is where Edwin was born.

Sadly, George died in the 4th quarter of 1880 at the young age of 58, and Martha was listed as a widow in the 1881 Census at the same address in Albert road with her two sons.

George exhibited 8 works at the Royal Academy from 1858-1880, mostly paintings of dead game, 24 at Suffolk Street 1851-62 and 6 at the British Institution 1858-62. There are 8 of his paintings in the National Collection and their location and images may be viewed at ArtUK.org.

He is listed in the Dictionary of British Artists (Ciollectors' Club), The Dictionary of Victorian Painters by Christopher Wood and the Dictionary of Britsh Watercolour Artists by H. L. Mallalieu.

The painting has been newly doubled mounted in two tone acid-free mountboard and is framed in a 1" gilt frame. It will be supplied wired and ready to hang.

Image size: 13 1/8" x 8 7/8" - 33.25cm x 22.6cm

Frame size: 21 5/8" x 17 3/4" - 54.9cm x 45.1cm

Medium: Watercolours on card

Condition: Excellent. The colours are bright and true and there is no foxing or damage of any kind. The mounts are new and the frame is in very good condition.