The Cornish Coast by Dorothea Sharp

Dorothea Sharp
The Cornish Coast
oil on board
signed lower left and titled on a frame plaque; titled on a gallery label on the reverse
12 x 16 ins ( 30.5 x 40.6 cms )
Auction Estimate: $15,000.00 - $20,000.00
Price Realized $15,600.00
Sale date: November 22nd 2022
Alex Fraser Galleries, Vancouver
Private Collection, Ontario
Harold Sawkins, “Dorothea Sharp", The Artist, April 1935, page 58
“The Cornish Coast” exemplifies the delightful world of a Dorothea Sharp painting. The loose brushwork and the bright tones pull the viewer into a warm summer’s day. The subjects relax in boats and play on the shore. The picture, as a whole, is a harmonious and cheerful scene. As Harold Sawkins explained, “the chief attractions of Miss Sharp’s delightful pictures are her happy choice of subjects, and her beautiful colour schemes. Rollicking children bathed in strong sunlight, playing in delightful surroundings, her subjects appeal because they are based on the joy of life. And she presents them equally happily, with a powerful technique which enables her to make the most of her wonderful sense of colour”.
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Dorothea Sharp
(1874 - 1955)
Dorothea Sharp was born in Kent and is best known for her landscapes and naturalistic studies of children. She studied at the Regent Street Polytechnic and also in Paris. In 1903 she became an Associate of the Society of Women Artists, becoming a full member five years later. She was also elected a member of the Royal Society of British Artists and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 1906 and 1923 respectively. Sharp exhibited at The Royal Academy from 1901-1948 and lived for most of her life in London. Influenced by the work of the Impressionists, the clarity of light, her unusual use of colour, and her free brushwork all combined to emphasize her significant role in the development of twentieth century British art. Her works are now exhibited in museums throughout the world.