Charles E. Chambers Figurative Paintings

The Guildhall, Worcester English School, mid 20th century indistinctly signed verso oil on canvas canvas: 20 x 24 inches provenance: private collection, UK condition: very good and sound condition The Worcester Guildhall was originally built as a meeting place for Worcester merchants around 1227. As with many other guildhalls, it became the centre for civic administration, a role it maintained after the merchant guild had disappeared. The present Worcester Guildhall is a superb Queen Anne building, begun in 1722 by Thomas White, a pupil of Sir Christopher Wren. White was badly paid for his efforts, and he died in poverty in 1738, bestowing the money he was owed on the Worcester Royal Infirmary. The city finally paid its debt in 1753. The exterior of the Guildhall is brick, dressed with stone. White himself is said to have carved the figure of Queen Anne over the entry, as well as those of Charles I and II, a reminder of the city's long history of royal support. The interior is superb, boasting exceptional period decoration. The Tourist Information Centre is now located in the Guildhall. HISTORY In 1227 Henry III granted the citizens of Worcester a royal charter granting them the right to establish a guild of merchants. The guild was responsible for controlling trade in the city, but their meeting place gradually became the main centre of administration for city government and acted as a courthouse. So, in effect, the Guildhall was the town hall, and though the city guilds have long since vanished, the Guildhall name lives on. The medieval guild merchants would not recognise the building that faces onto High Street now. Their guildhall was a large timber-framed building, occupying the same site, with a piazza for shops fronting the street, courts of justice at each end, and a prison to the north of the building. Part of the prison was a cell called 'the peephole', which gained a notorious reputation. There was a gaoler's house, and attached to it an alehouse from which the gaoler sold ale at extremely high prices to any prisoner who could afford the cost. In 1717 the city administration decided on a new Guildhall, and they knew just who to call; upon to build it. Thomas White was not an architect in the way we think of it today, but a stonemason. In 1705 he had carved a statue of Queen Anne to stand in front of the medieval Guildhall and was made a Freeman of the City. The total cost of the fashionable new red-brick building was £3727. The Corporation only put forward £800, and the rest had to be raised by public subscription. The centre section of the new Guildhall was finished by 1724 and has remained almost unchanged since then. The central facade is a wonderful example of early Georgian style, with three bays flanked by Corinthian pillars. Over the entrance is a huge carving incorporating the Hanoverian royal arms. White's earlier statue of Queen Anne was placed in a niche over the door, and on either side were statues of Charles I, depicted holding a church, and Charles II, with an orb and royal sceptre. On the rooftop are figures of Labour, Peace, Justice, Plenty, and Chastisement. North and south wings were added within a few years of the central block. The south wing was used as a judge's lodging when the assizes were taking place, but throughout the rest of the year it housed a coffee shop. The most striking external feature of the Guildhall is a set of iron gates...

Merry Makers in the Tavern French School, 18th century oil on canvas canvas: 8 x 11 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: good and sound condition

This striking oil landscape is dominated by a vast, cinematic sky, rendered with the rapid, "plein air" brushwork that defined the late 19th-century French school. Rather than a stat...

Elegant Figures in Interior *see notes below Italian School, mid 18th century most likely of Venetian origin oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 10.75 x 11.75 inches provenance: private ...

This charming painting depicts a group of gentlemen gathered around a kitchen table and admiring an English Setter. The snowy rooftops, just visible from the kitchen window, combined with the lit fire and holly decorating the picture frames in the room, implies that this is a Christmas scene. It also appears that the gentlemen have just returned from a fox hunt, and are now warming themselves, drinking port and smoking long pipes by the fire. Five men — three gathered behind the table and two standing in front — are identically dressed in long black riding boots...

The Card Players Flemish Old Master, 17th century based on a version (in reverse) of a painting by Cornelis de Vos (Flemish 1584-1651) oil on canvas, unframed Canvas: 39 x 62 inches ...

Alfred Fontville De Breanski (1877–1957) “English Cottage Garden”, circa 1920 Oil on canvas Signed lower right This richly coloured and romantic vision of rural England by Alfred F...

"Of Ships and Men" - Nautical Trompe l'Oeil Composition in Oil on Board Maritime still life by Russell Tripp (American, 1942-2025). This hyper-realistic painting captures a collecti...

AGNIESZKA STAAK-JANCZARSKA (born in 1994) A graduate of the State Secondary School of Art of Józef Kluza in Krakow. In 2020, she graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow in ...

Portrait of a Lady French School, 20th century oil painting on canvas, unframed 40 x 29 inches condition: very good and presentable provenance: private collection, Provence Superb ...

Contemporary figurative nude oil on cardboard painting by Polish artist Agnieszka Staak-Janczarska. Painting depicts a woman sitting on a floor with her head resting on her knee. Art...

At first glance, simple, banal things are visible but something is clearly strange here, what is going on here? And where did a piece of cake disappear? keywords; surrealism, food, ...