`River Trent near Beeston`
Charles Wilde (1856-1905)
Fabulous oil on canvas by Victorian Landscape painter Charles Wilde. Many of Wilde`s paintings are of scenes along the Trent as he was the grandson of the lock keeper of Trent Lock, near Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Evidently a frequent guest at their lock keepers cottage was the artist Henry Dawson (1811-1878). Charles Wilde first exhibited his paintings in 1879 and subsequently is recorded at several addresses in Beeston. In the catalogue of the `Trentside` exhibition (University of Nottingham) a reference describes the Wilde`s home at Trent Lock as `termed the shrine of painters of some of the most beautiful paintings in the English landscape school.`Wilde`s father, William Junior (1826-1901) was also a talented amateur painter. Charles Wilde was elected a member of the Nottingham Society of Artists in 1880 and exhibited there no less than 113 times. The painting is in excellent condition as it appears to have been behind glass all its life in the original frame, which is a very nice `museum` quality heavy gilt item.