Two Gnomes in an Enchanted Wood
England: , 1950. Item #05032
Two Gnomes in an Enchanted Wood
A Charming Original Watercolor by R. James Williams
WILLIAMS, R. James, illustrator. Two Gnomes in an Enchanted Wood. [England, ca. 1950].
Original watercolor, pen and ink, and colored pencil drawing on paper, depicting two wonderfully characterful gnomes beneath a large tree, surrounded by foxgloves and woodland flowers, while an owl perched on an overhanging branch observes them from above.
Signed “R. James / WILLIAMS” in the lower right corner.
Image size: 11 1/2 x 9 1/8 inches; 292 x 232 mm. Framed size: 18 3/4 x 15 1/2 inches; 476 x 394 mm. Matted, framed and glazed.
A delightful and highly finished original illustration, executed in a particularly appealing fairy-tale manner. The two gnomes - one elderly and extravagantly bearded, the other younger and mischievously smiling - wear enormous red caps and stand amid mushrooms and foxgloves at the foot of a great tree. Above them, an owl peers down from a branch, completing the whimsical woodland scene. The delicate coloring and fine pen work are particularly effective in the flowers, foliage, tree bark and expressive faces of the figures.
Richard James WILLIAMS (1876–1964) was a British artist, illustrator and art educator who served as headmaster of the Worcester School of Arts and Crafts. He was editor of and a major contributor to the school's periodical The Three Pears, and also illustrated a number of children's books. His fantasy and children's illustration frequently displays the combination of humorous characterization and meticulous decorative detail evident in the present drawing.
A particularly charming example of Williams's work, strongly evocative of the golden tradition of British fairy and fantasy illustration.
Price: $1,750.00