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| ARTIST: | Samuel John Larmona Birch RA, RWS, RWA. |
| DATES: | British 1869 - 1955 |
| TITLE: | Early Spring, the Valley of the Lune, near Lancaster |
| MEDIUM: | Oil on canvas |
| SIZE: | 37 x 50 cm |
| REMARKS: | signed |
| $NZ: | Category E |
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SAMUEL JOHN LAMORNA BIRCH RA RWS RWA Egremont 1869 - 1955 Lamorna Samuel Birch was born in Egremont, Cheshire, the eldest son in a family of ten. On the death of his father he left school at the age of 12 to work as an office boy in Manchester. His first foray into painting was a sketching holiday in France. He became influenced by the Newlyn artists and in 1902 he moved to Cornwall, the area that was to provide him with his principal source of inspiration for the rest of his life. A keen fisherman, he first set up a studio near the river at Lamorna Cove near Newlyn, and later moved to Flagstaff Cottage at the head of the bay. He became the founder of the Lamorna colony of artists and attracted other artists to the area such as Sir Alfred Munnings, Augustus John, Laura and Harold Knight and the New Zealander Eleanor Hughes. One of his early students was Houghton Vivian whom he later married. The quintessential Englishman, Birchs paintings expressed the mood of the English countryside in a way that had not been seen before. He was not afraid to paint in bright, sometimes primary colours that give his work an unmistakable quality. On his home ground too he was instantly recognisable, often sporting an old battered tweed hat covered in fishing flies. From 1906 Birch's work was exhibited at The Fine Arts Society. He exhibited over 200 works at the Royal Academy between 1893 and 1954. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1926, and became a full member eight years later. Unwilling to settle for the quiet life of a provincial painter he travelled around England, Scotland, Europe and eventually across the world to Australia and New Zealand. These trips broadened his experience as a painter and he always returned to Cornwall invigorated and refreshed by his experiences. An exhibition of his New Zealand paintings was opened by Lord Bledisloe, former Governor-General of New Zealand, at Greatorix Gallery in London in November 1937. In 1947 the people of Cornwall presented two paintings by Birch to HM Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh on the occasion of their marriage. |
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