Arthur Wardle R.I Oil Study Circa.1910 Asleep At The Beach

Arthur Wardle R.I 1860-1949. Oil on artists card. Circa.1910. Asleep at the Beach. 26 by 36.5 cms. 38.5 by 48.8 cms. Overall in frame. Provenance: "The Studio of Arthur Wardle" Sotheby's London November 23 1994. Private Collection UK.

Best known as a painter of animal and wildlife subjects this oil study is fairly atypical in Wardle's genre. Possibly an informal portrait of a family member and not intended for sale it remained in the artists family until the Sotheby's studio sale.

Wardle exhibited more than 100 works at the Royal Academy, as well as the Society of British Artists. Elected to the Pastel Society in 1911 and became a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours in 1922. In 1931 he held his first one-man exhibition at the Fine Art Society and in 1935 the Vicar's Gallery put on an exhibition of his work. He also exhibited in Paris. His career was highly successful and his works continue to be sought after and widely reproduced. He remains one of the widely known animal painters of the 19th and 20th centuries.