Fruit Composition On A Natural Background. Olivier Clare. Hsp 22x 28 Cm

Provenance: ex collection W. Williams of Abbey Terrace, Abbey Road, St. John's Wood (inscribed in pen and ink in an early 20th century hand on a label verso).

Born in 1853, Oliver was the son of the celebrated still life painter George Clare and his wife Lizzie, formerly Elizabeth Bowen. The Clare family, George, Oliver and Vincent, were Victorian artists who specialised in and were well known for their highly finished and highly detailed still lifes of fruit and flowers. George and Lizzie's third son, David, did not paint and so little is known of him. George Clare, who painted most of his life in London, would have known William Henry Hunt (1790-1864), often called 'Birds Nest' Hunt, who was a major inspiration for George's subjects along with William Dexter (1818-1860). However, it was Oliver who took up the torch of still life painting and made it a 'celebration' of the bounty of nature and the beauty of life in the English hedgerows to the exclusion of all else. Oliver spent most of his artistic life in Birmingham. He was born at 185 Edward Road, Springhill, Birmingham in 1850. Although there is no record of where he received his training, it is safe to say that most, if not all, of his training came from his father. Their stippling technique and choice of subject are almost identical. His stunning and unique technique and finish are exceptional. He captures the bloom of wild yeast on plum and grape skins right down to the very subtle drops of water found on the fruit in the early morning dew. His brushstrokes are almost invisible and the urge to wipe the dew drops off the fruit is almost irresistible. His subjects are often set against mossy backgrounds, which produces a more informal composition than many of his contemporary artists. Clare is recorded as having enlisted in The 4th Kings Own at the age of 18. At the age of 36 Oliver decided to emigrate to America and took passage on the SS Roman, from Liverpool, an immigrant ship bound for New York. He is clearly listed as passenger 266, an artist bound for New York. Oliver lived and worked in America for four years, before finally deciding to return to his native country where he settled again in Birmingham where he remained for the rest of his life. The 12 postcards in the two sets of cards commissioned by the Pitman Health Food Co. He married his wife Emma and they both lived at 11 Wills Street, Lozells, Birmingham where he died on 13 April 1927 of throat cancer. While Oliver was living in Birmingham he was commissioned by a local company 'Pitman Health Food Co' to paint still lifes of fruit to reproduce on postcards and posters to promote healthy eating. There are two known sets of six cards in each pack, twelve in total. Oliver Clare exhibited many paintings throughout his life and is most often associated with the Birmingham Artists. He exhibited eighteen works at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, three at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool and six at the Manchester City Art Gallery. In the late 1870s and early 1880s he lived in London where he exhibited several works at the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street.