Chateau Gaillard, On The Seine A 19th Century French Landscape

Sir Alfred East RA (1844-1913) Château Gaillard, on the Seine oil on canvas

Signed 71 x 91cm (27 15/16 x 35 13/16in)

£6,500

Sir Alfred East was born in 1844 in Kettering, Northamptonshire and studied at the Glasgow School of Art. His romantic landscapes show the influence of the Barbizon School.

He was awarded a Knighthood in 1910 by King Edward VII. On 28th September 1913, Alfred East died at his London residence in Belsize Park. His body was taken back to Kettering and lay in state in the Art Gallery, where the pictures that surrounded him, were the pictures he presented to the town. Painter and etcher, Alfred East began work in his brother's shoe factory. During the 1880’s he studied in Paris at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian and was influenced by the Barbizon painters. Settling in London in 1884 he exhibited at RA from 1883 and then every year until his death. He was elected an Associate of the RA in 1899 and RA in 1913. He held the position of President of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1906 and was awarded the Grand Order of the Corona of Italy in 1903. He was Knighted in 1910. He was commissioned by the Fine Art Society to paint landscapes in Japan, the exhibition of the resultant work in 1890 leading to great acclaim. East spent much time in America after 1900, and many of his pictures were bought by large American museums. However, he gave many paintings to his hometown of Kettering, where an Alfred East Art Gallery was specially built. He was one of the early members of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers and wrote several books and articles on landscape painting. East was also an elected member of the Art Workers' Guild, RE, RI, NEAC and ROI. On Sunday, 28 September 1913, Alfred East died at his London residence in Belsize Park. His body was taken back to Kettering to lay in state in the Art Gallery, where it was surrounded by the pictures he had presented to the town, and attracted crowds of several thousands. His works are held in many collections including: AAG, Alfred East Art Gallery, Ashmolean,  Bolton Art Gallery, Dudley Museum and Art Gallery, Ferens Art Gallery, Glasgow Museums,  Laing Art Gallery, Leeds Art Gallery, Leicester Arts and Museums Service,  National Museums Liverpool, Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, Nottingham City Museums and Galleries,  Tate Gallery, Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, V&A and Wolverhampton Art Gallery. Bibliography: Art of Landscape Painting in Oil Colour by Sir Alfred East. Published by Cassell & Co, London, 1911 Brush and Pencil Notes in Landscape by Sir Alfred East. Published by Cassell &Co., London, 1914. Sir Alfred East: The Forgotten Genius, An Exhibition of Landscapes. Published by Roy Miles Fine Paintings, London, 1978. Alfred East: Lyrical Landscape painter by Paul Johnson and Kenneth McConkey. Published by Sansom & Co. Bristol, 2009.