FROM BOSTON TO THE ROYAL ACADEMY: TWO LANDSCAPES BY MARK WILLIAM FISHER RA

Although Fisher’s name is perhaps less familiar today than some of his contemporaries, his career was a distinguished one. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1841, he first studied in America and came under the influence of the important landscape painter George Inness. He subsequently travelled to Paris, studying at the celebrated atelier of Charles Gleyre in 1863, where Alfred Sisley was among the artists working at around the same time. Fisher later returned to America but ultimately settled permanently in England in 1872.

It was in Britain that his reputation developed. Fisher became particularly admired for atmospheric rural landscapes, woodland, rivers, fields and scenes of everyday country life. His paintings could be broad and vigorous in handling, with an emphasis on changing light and weather rather than highly polished academic finish. Later commentators have consequently regarded him as an important figure in the development of a freer, more Impressionistic approach to British landscape painting.

He exhibited extensively at the Royal Academy, the New English Art Club and the Royal Watercolour Society, and served for a time as President of the Essex Art Club. He became an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1911 and a full Royal Academician in 1919. His work is now represented in numerous public collections, including Tate and the Royal Academy itself.

MARLOW MEADOWS – A POSSIBLE ROYAL ACADEMY PICTURE

The first of the two works is a particularly attractive river landscape measuring approximately 82 × 58cm, showing the Thames water meadows at evening, with a cottage beside the river and what appears to be Bisham Abbey visible in the distance.

The frame slip is inscribed “M. Fisher”, and research undertaken for the catalogue suggests that the composition may correspond with Fisher’s Marlow Meadows, recorded as having been exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1888.

That possible Royal Academy connection adds considerable interest to the work. The scene itself is quintessentially Fisher: the drama is not supplied by people or incident but by the landscape, the fading light and the enormous breadth of the sky. The quiet stretch of water leads the eye through the composition towards the distant horizon, while the darkened cottage and trees provide a strong counterpoint to the soft evening colour beyond.

There is also an appealing geographical specificity to the picture. If the distant building is indeed Bisham Abbey, the painting records one of the most picturesque stretches of the Thames around Marlow, an area which naturally attracted landscape painters during the later 19th century.

I would, however, retain the phrase “believed to correspond with” in both the article and catalogue unless we can independently locate the actual 1888 Royal Academy catalogue entry. My web searches support Fisher’s extensive Royal Academy career, but I have not yet found an authoritative digitised source confirming the exact title and catalogue number 1056. That distinction is worth maintaining.

THE CROW – A MORE MYSTERIOUS LANDSCAPE

The second painting, also approximately 82 × 58cm, has a rather different character.

Traditionally titled The Crow, it depicts a secluded country inn or substantial rural building approached along a fenced track. Suspended from the building is a small hanging sign apparently depicting a crow, providing the probable origin of the title.

Unlike the expansive openness of Marlow Meadows, this composition is enclosed and almost theatrical. The road draws the viewer towards the darkened building, while the surrounding trees and undergrowth create a strong sense of seclusion. It is a very different demonstration of Fisher’s ability as a landscape painter: less about distant atmosphere and more about the personality of a particular rural place.

The painting appears unsigned, but an interesting piece of physical evidence survives on the reverse: the trade label of E. S. Boswell, Carver, Gilder, Picture Frame Maker and Fine Art Dealer, Oxford House, Cardiff Road, Newport, Monmouthshire, a business established in 1888.

That label does not, by itself, establish authorship or original ownership, but it is an attractive piece of provenance evidence and suggests that the painting and its substantial period gilt frame had entered the commercial art world at an early stage.

Its condition also tells part of its history. The surface is considerably obscured by dirt and discoloured varnish, with craquelure and evidence of earlier intervention. There is also a small area of canvas loss. In its present state the painting has a noticeably dark appearance, and it is reasonable to suggest that professional conservation might reveal considerably more tonal variation beneath the aged varnish — although, of course, no assumption should be made about the eventual result without examination by a conservator.

AN AMERICAN WHO BECAME A BRITISH LANDSCAPE PAINTER

The unusual aspect of Fisher’s career is that he sits between two artistic traditions.

He was American by birth and received important early instruction in the United States, including contact with George Inness. Yet his mature career was overwhelmingly British. After settling in England he became a familiar exhibitor in London and increasingly identified with the British landscape tradition. Contemporary and later commentary has particularly noted his energetic handling of paint and his sensitivity to weather, light and the English countryside.

His status during his lifetime was substantial. By the late 19th century he was attracting serious critical attention, and he ultimately achieved the considerable distinction of full membership of the Royal Academy. A memorial exhibition was held at the Leicester Galleries after his death in 1923, with his friend and fellow artist George Clausen contributing an appreciation.

Today Fisher occupies an interesting position for collectors: an artist with genuine institutional importance, strong exhibition history and representation in public collections, but whose name remains considerably less familiar to the wider public than many artists of similar standing.

OFFERED TOGETHER FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTION

The two paintings are especially appealing when considered together.

Marlow Meadows presents Fisher as the painter of spacious atmosphere, water and evening light; The Crow shows his ability to find character and drama in a quieter, enclosed rural scene.

Both are substantial oils of the same dimensions, both are housed in period gilt frames, and both come from a distinguished British private collection.

For collectors of Victorian and Edwardian landscape painting, Royal Academy exhibitors or pictures connected with the Thames Valley, they represent an unusual opportunity to see two contrasting sides of the work of Mark William Fisher RA in the same auction.