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rivers & canals

The paintings in this section are obviously related to the images of coastal scenes, but are subtly different in content. What they take as their subject matter is not simply the appearance of nature – scenery in its traditional artistic guise – but nature as challenged by industry. There are, for example, a number of paintings inspired by a cement works, surely one of the least ‘romantic’ of all industrial buildings. Yet these paintings are, nevertheless lineal descendants of the famous composition with which J. M. W, Turner hailed the new industrial age – the great grandchildren, in their own way, of Turner’s Rain, Steam and Speed.

Edward Lucie-Smith

Art Historian, Author & Critic

images © 2019 steven heffer

text © 2016 edward lucie-smith

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