My Weird Love of 1800’s and 1900’s Artwork

So I have one expensive hobby that is probably kind of unusual for a 27 year old to have… and that is collecting oil paintings from the 1800’s and 1900’s.

In particular I only purchase oil paintings from primarily English painters from those centuries.

It’s weird I know. I have purchased over ten of these pieces on Ebay and really, seriously, at some point, need to stop!

I have a particular artist that I love, two actually, a father and son duo. Sir Alfred H. Vickers Senior 1786-1868 (exhibited at the British Institute and Royal Academy) and Alfred Vickers Junior (1853-1907)

they are by far my FAVORITE artists of all time-

I especially like Alfred Juniors paintings because they look like fairy tales-

below is my favorite piece that I own

there’s just something about it…here it is hanging in my bedroom

I also have this awesome watercolor painting of his

And here’s his father’s piece that I have

There is more realism in the father’s ocean side pieces-a little bleaker but still beautiful-

This one is titled Cologne on the Rhine (Cologne is a city in Germany right on the Rhine river)

I need to get this last painting cleaned up- it can make such a difference but it is very important to not over clean an old painting-

Experts say that you should only clean a painting every 60 years

the patina is actually part of the charm

I also have another more impressionistic Barbizon school piece that is unsigned

and a horse and carriage painting~

This one above is fascinating to me because I bought it as an unsigned painting but then found information etched into the back of the painting-

it states “J. Rogers Artist to H. R. H. Prince Albert & Royal Palace

Greenwich Kent 1844″

(btw H. R. H. means His Royal Highness)

Prince Albert and Queen Victoria had a fondness for talented artists and it is just so COOL for me to know that this was possibly hanging in one of their palaces and was maybe owned by a real Prince!

The artist could have even been part of the effort by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to open the Royal Museums of Greenwich

So now I just need to figure out how to display all of these awesome paintings- maybe a gallery wall in the bedroom?

Here are some inspiration pics

Pinterest.

I like this one a ton- love the door knob too

Pinterest.

It’s hard to balance the look between “cool look at those awesome pieces of art” and “wow is this girl 80 years old?”

Sweet Woodruffs: Landscape Gallery Wall and a New Addition.

This blog has some cool ideas for a gallery wall- just need to get my butt in gear and do it!