Cliff Rowe painting

inspector · September 29th, 2011, 10:17 AM

Some years ago my wife bought a painting in a gallery, probably from an estate sale, with no provenance. It was signed, and we verified the signature by comparison with published examples. There is a Cliff Rowe collection in the Peoples History Museum in Manchester UK but any inquiry there was fruitless. There appears to be no bibliography or catalog. Other holdings are in the National Railway Museum in York, the Science Museum in London, and the Tate. Rowe was a socialist who also made a lot of posters for Socialist working causes. The painting we have appears to be from a late period, 1948 at a guess, and may be unfinished, though probably not. Still, it's quite different from the detailed paintings he usually made. Anyone know anything about this?

John · September 29th, 2011, 01:59 PM

Do you have a photograph? I'm curious as to what you mean by "quite different". One of my pet peeves is how history selectively edits the oeuvre of various artists and sometimes turns them into caricatures of themselves. Most artists work in multiple styles during the course of their career and tackle multiple subjects, and IMO embracing that brings us closer to a true understanding of the artist than if we focus on their "greatest" works or their "classic" period.

inspector · September 30th, 2011, 05:10 AM

I did have a photo but it was just a snapshot in poor light and illegible. I'll make another.

September 29th, 2011, 10:17 AM	#1
inspector Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Tempe AZ Posts: 3	Cliff Rowe painting Some years ago my wife bought a painting in a gallery, probably from an estate sale, with no provenance. It was signed, and we verified the signature by comparison with published examples. There is a Cliff Rowe collection in the Peoples History Museum in Manchester UK but any inquiry there was fruitless. There appears to be no bibliography or catalog. Other holdings are in the National Railway Museum in York, the Science Museum in London, and the Tate. Rowe was a socialist who also made a lot of posters for Socialist working causes. The painting we have appears to be from a late period, 1948 at a guess, and may be unfinished, though probably not. Still, it's quite different from the detailed paintings he usually made. Anyone know anything about this?

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September 29th, 2011, 01:59 PM	#2
John John Malyon, host Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 2,400	Do you have a photograph? I'm curious as to what you mean by "quite different". One of my pet peeves is how history selectively edits the oeuvre of various artists and sometimes turns them into caricatures of themselves. Most artists work in multiple styles during the course of their career and tackle multiple subjects, and IMO embracing that brings us closer to a true understanding of the artist than if we focus on their "greatest" works or their "classic" period.

September 30th, 2011, 05:10 AM	#3
inspector Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Tempe AZ Posts: 3	I did have a photo but it was just a snapshot in poor light and illegible. I'll make another.