By Vivienne Milburn FRICS Independent Antiques Auctioneer & Valuer
CONSTABLE’S landscapes are quintessentially English – and through the years, other artists have been influenced by him, including the de Breanski father and son. The painting of Tavy Cleave in Dartmoor we have pictured, is an example of a Constablesque landscape, and it made £920 in the specialist auction.
Alfred de Bréanski Sr (1852-1928) and his eldest son, Alfred Fontville de Bréanski Jr, (1877-1957), were prolific British landscapists whose works bridged late-Victorian romanticism and early 20th-century naturalism. The influence of Constable is evident in their works.
The father, exhibiting at the Royal Academy from 1872, and became celebrated for Highland and Welsh vistas as well as tranquil reaches of the Thames. His commercial success was considerable, and it has a strong ‘afterlife’ on the auction market.
Both artists also painted in Derbyshire, leaving a thread that ties their output to the Peak District. For the elder Bréanski, early work such as ‘Matlock, River Derwent, Derbyshire’ (1873) places his trademark silvery light and cattle-dotted banks on the Derwent. The auction records for his paintings show results over £20,000 for large pictures painted in the glow of evening light.
For the son, Derbyshire appears in views like ‘Riber Castle and the Derwent from Matlock Bridge’, a signed canvas dating to circa 1930 that locates the painter on the 15th-century Matlock (Derwent) Bridge; evidence that he, too, admired the county’s picturesqueness.
At auction, the family name consistently draws interest. Auction precedents show Senior’s realised prices ranging from modest sums to high five figures, depending on size, subject and condition; Junior, likewise remains active in the auction market with a steady output. A particularly evocative subject for the younger Bréanski is Dartmoor’s Tavy Cleave, which is a dramatic, tors-studded gorge where the River Tavy narrows into cascading pools. His oil ‘Tavy Cleave, Dartmoor’ made £920, showing its appeal to collectors.
Tavy Cleave is renowned as a wild-swimming destination: “the clear pool is gorgeous, surrounded by towering tors that give you that wonderful feeling of being dwarfed by nature; cascades and rock shelves that makes it especially picturesque.”
Taken together, the Bréanskis’ Derbyshire views, dramatic Highlands and river idylls map a family lineage of light and water that still resonates at auction.
Editor’s Note: If you require a valuation, it is worth getting the advice of an Independent Antiques Valuer to assess your works of art and antiques. For further information, contact Vivienne Milburn on 07870 238788 or 01629 640210. Alternatively, go to www.viviennemilburn.co.uk or email vivienne@viviennemilburn.co.uk es Valuer to assess. For further information, please contact Vivienne on 07870 238788 or 01629 640210, or go to www.viviennemilburn.co.uk or email vivienne@viviennemilburn.co.uk