Charles Gregory, Summer's Day at Steyning Bowl, West Sussex, 1890s, Watercolor

Charles Gregory.
English ( b.1849 - d.1920 ).
Summers Day at Steyning Bowl, West Sussex, South Downs Way. Watercolour.
Signed Lower Left.
Image size 17 inches x 25.2 inches ( 43cm x 64cm ).
Frame size 24.4 inches x 32.7 inches ( 62cm x 83cm ).

This original painting is by Charles Gregory and dates from around 1890.
The watercolour is presented and supplied in a sympathetic and contrasting contemporary frame to suit the subject colouration (which is shown in these photographs) and behind non-reflective Tru Vue UltraVue® UV70 glass.
This antique piece is in very good condition. It wants for nothing and is supplied ready to hang and display.
The watercolour is signed lower left.

Charles Gregory was a British painter of genre and historical subjects, and also an illustrator. He worked primarily in watercolour.
Gregory was born in London on 24 March 1850 and later studied art at the Royal Academy Schools there. Although he spent most of his life in England it is known that he spent some of his youth in Australia, where he painted numerous watercolours of ships and also drew native birds.
Gregory spent some time living and painting the south coast and in 1887 mounted an exhibition under the title Summertime on the South Coast from Rye (in Sussex) to Penzance (in Cornwall) at Dowdeswells Gallery in New Bond Street, London, which was the culmination of some years’ work. It is possible that the work offered here formed part of that exhibition due to its age and the proximity of the subject matter to the coast.
Gregory continued to exhibit successfully, with several works exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1877onwards. Exhibitions of his work were also held in Liverpool and Melbourne. He was elected an associate of the Royal Watercolour Society in 1882 and became a full member in 1883.
After 1890 he lived in Ripley, then Godalming in Surrey, and then in Marlow-on-Thames, Buckinghamshire, where he died on 21 October 1920, aged 72.
Today, his works capture the beauty and romance of a world gone by with a lightness of touch. An example of his word is held at the Bristol City Art Gallery.



This original watercolour depicts Steyning Bowl, a beautiful hillside with magnificent views, just above the Adur Valley. It is a favourite of destination for walkers of the South Downs Way and overlooks the charming country town of Steyning in West Sussex. This painting shows two figures, perhaps a mother and daughter, dressed in white blouses and long skirts and summer hats, walking along a section of wooden picket fencing. In the middle of the painting we see the exposed chalk cliffs of the Downs, with abundant foliage all around. There are wild poppies among the tall grass, and the palette of mild greens and creams perfectly captures the essence of a summer’s day well over a century ago.