Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

Ken Messer
Oxford s skyline Dreaming Spires watercolour by Ken Messer

$1,575.99
£1,150
€1,352.28
CA$2,185.74
A$2,353.15
CHF 1,260.16
MX$28,354.57
NOK 15,899.67
SEK 14,550.76
DKK 10,104.76

About the Item

To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the view you want. Ken Messer (1931 - 2018) Dreaming Spires Watercolour 30 x 38 cm Signed lower left. Oxford's skyline, including the Radcliffe Camera, the spire of University Church of St Mary the Virgin, and Magdalen Tower, is silhouetted against the grey sky of a winter day. The trees in the foreground are stark and black. Messer's depiction of Oxford's dreaming spires is an outstanding architectural record of the city's - and University's - most remarkable buildings. The painter and draughtsman Ken Messer is closely related to Oxford and its architecture in several ways. Born in Newport, South Wales, he was educated at the City of Oxford High School for Boys in Oxford, and then spent six years working as an accountant in Oxford. He then joined British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) as a steward, flying internationally. Injury due to a car accident during the 1960s meant that he joined the design department of Pergamon Press in Oxford at the age of 33. Six years later, he was appointed to the position of studio manager, in charge of art and design. In 1974, Messer left Pergamon Press to become a freelance graphic designer. He started painting more watercolours, becoming a full-time artist. During the 1980s, his ink drawings were regularly published in the Oxford Times. He has sometimes been called "The Oxford Artist" because of his large number of works depicting Oxford. He and his wife Dilys lived at first in Richmond upon Thames and then in Abingdon, just south of Oxford. Messer's work has been shown at the Mall Galleries for the annual exhibitions of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours annual exhibitions.
  • Creator:
    Ken Messer (1931 - 2017)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 11.82 in (30 cm)Width: 14.97 in (38 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Excellent.
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU795311468572

More From This Seller

View All
Oxford Spires, lithograph by Brenda Cripps
Located in London, GB
Brenda Cripps Oxford Spires Lithograph 20 x 29 cm Titled, signed and dated to lower right hand corner. This lithograph depicts a view over the Oxford skyline. The Old Tom Tower ...
Category

2010s Realist Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Oxford Spires All Souls College Radcliffe Camera etching by Richard Beer
By Richard Beer
Located in London, GB
To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the ...
Category

1980s Realist Landscape Prints

Materials

Etching

Magdalen Tower, Magdalen College, Oxford watercolour by Fred Taylor
By Fred Taylor
Located in London, GB
To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the ...
Category

20th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Magdalen Tower, Oxford watercolour by William Barnes
By William Barnes
Located in London, GB
To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the ...
Category

20th Century Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Oriel Street, Oxford watercolour by Ken Messer
By Ken Messer
Located in London, GB
To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the ...
Category

1970s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Robert Tavener: Cheltenham College architectural watercolour
By Robert Tavener
Located in London, GB
To see our other Modern British Art, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the artist you ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Pen

You May Also Like

Historic Miniature Watercolor of Bath Abbey View from the West Front
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Historic Miniature Watercolor of Bath Abbey View from the West Front by Jack Grunwell, 20th century British artist Medium: Watercolor on thin card, unframed Measurements: 3.7...
Category

20th Century English School Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Diana Boyd - Framed Contemporary Watercolour, London Landmarks from Westminster
Located in Corsham, GB
Presented in a contemporary off-white frame. Signed to the lower right. On watercolour paper.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Oxford, Cityscape drawing framed, Citysketch by Simon Kozhin
By Simon Kozhin
Located in Zofingen, AG
I made this sketch from nature while I was in one of the old and beautiful streets of Oxford. It was a gray day, sometimes it started to rain a little, and there were not many people...
Category

Early 2000s Art Nouveau Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pencil

Kingston London Rooftop View with Church Tower 1979 Original Watercolour
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Kingston London Rooftop View with Church Tower 1979 Original Watercolour By Tony Herbert (1927-2024) Medium: Watercolor on paper, unframed Size: 15 inches (height) x 11.75 inc...
Category

20th Century Impressionist Landscape Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

British Impressionist Watercolor of Stately Cathedral Rising Above the Treetops
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: British Impressionist Watercolor of Stately Cathedral Rising Above the Treetops By Anthony Avery (British 1946-2023) Original watercolor on artists paper, unframed Dimensions:...
Category

Early 2000s Impressionist Landscape Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Wells Cathedral, Wells, UK /// Contemporary Watercolor British Church City Scene
By Ken Burton
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Ken Burton (English, 1946-) Title: "Wells Cathedral, Wells, UK" *Signed by Burton lower right Year: 1988 Medium: Original Watercolor on heavy wove paper Framing: Not framed, ...
Category

1980s Contemporary Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor