'Mont Blanc, Glacier', large watercolour painting by Croft

This unusually large watercolour is by Arthur Croft, a British artist active during the late Victorian period and celebrated in his day and since as an intrepid traveller and as a painter of the landscapes witnessed on his travels.

The present watercolour depicts a wide and encompassing Alpine scene: high mountains, including Mont Blanc to the left, loom over a giant glacier. The colour palette is defined by the time of day: the sun sets, reddening the sky and thus tinging the mountains countless shades of pink and, by contrast, emphasising the cool blue of the glacial ice. The painterly style is accomplished and expressive, Croft employing a variety of brushstrokes to render a realistic scene.

The work is signed and dated lower left ‘Arthur Croft 1872’, and is affixed to the reverse with two stickers: one detailing the artist, the title, the date, and the medium, and the other an exhibition loan sticker. The work is contained within a carved giltwood frame.

Frame: Height 64cm, width 117cm, depth 3cm
Sheet: Height 53cm, width 108cm