Completed British 20th C, except portraits, London: Artists and Subjects, Wales: Artists and Subjects 10 Does anyone recognise the view depicted in Kyffin Williams' 'Conservatory, Highgate'?

Conservatory, Highgate
Topic: Subject or sitter

Does anyone recognise the conservatory in this painting? It has always been titled 'Conservatory, Highgate'. We would appreciate more details please.

Wales: Artists and Subjects, Entry reviewed by Art UK

Completed, Outcome

Jade Audrey King,

The title of this painting is now 'Conservatory, Highgate (Athlone House)', and a definite execution date of 1944 has been added from the collection's own records.

The collection collection confirmed these changes via email.

This change will appear on the Your Paintings website by the end of February 2015. Thank you to all for participating in this discussion. To those viewing this discussion for the first time, please see below for all comments that led to this conclusion.

9 comments

Barbara Bryant,

Two of the most obvious candidates for this site are the grandest buildings in Highgate--Athlone House (formerly Caen Wood Towers) or Witanhurst, reputedly the biggest private house in London--both on the edge of Hampstead Heath.

Kyffin Williams was art master at Highgate School so he had ample opportunity to paint the area. The boys of the school not only did their sporting activities on Hampstead Heath but also sketched there with Williams.

As a local resident, and without making lots of relevant comparisons (which I will do), I'd say the building depicted is most like the high Victorian style of Athlone House, now much changed.

Wales: Artists and Subjects,

Looking at an old picture of Athlone House (formerly Caen Wood Towers) "An engraving of Caen Wood Towers" shortly after it was built by Edward Brooke, circa 1880, the conservatory is indeed very similar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Athlone_House_(formerly_Caen_Wood_Towers),_Highgate

Jade Audrey King,

If this view is Athlone House, it seems the conservatory may have been demolished in 1945: http://ezitis.myzen.co.uk/athlone.html

'By 1945 a two-storey building had been added to the north of the house. The conservatory was demolished and a dining room and physiotherapy gym was built on its site.'

Naturally, it would be good to verify the information on this website, but if the above is true, it could indicate the work was painted earlier than the circa 1950 date given...

Osmund Bullock,

Andrew & Lona's links don't seem to work - this one for the Wiki article should: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athlone_House_(formerly_Caen_Wood_Towers),_Highgate

Yes, this is Caen Wood Towers (there is disagreement about when it was re-named), taken from the Hampstead Lane (north) side, immediately opposite Highgate School. Well done, Barbara - I'd spent a fruitless hour trying to identify it...but then I am a sarft Londoner. The conservatory was quite long, running north from the house, and had a small adjacent pavilion (on the right in the painting - presumably a boiler house to heat it). The crenellated silhouette behind is the house's main E-W roof-line, topped with decorative ridge tiles.

Williams's depiction of the pavilion is probably more accurate than it seems from the 1880 engraving - I am attaching an image of a another, earlier print that shows it looking very similar (no.1).

I'm also attaching a couple of cropped Ordinance Survey map images - no.2 is from 1937, with the (cross-hatched) glass area clearly shown (arrow 1), and the pavilion tucked against it (arrow 2). No.3 is from 1952-53, and although of smaller scale it seems to show both structures still in place. I would have said the map was out of date, but 1945 to 1952 seems a long time for the OS to fail to update. There is a new structure at the NE corner, however, and I wonder if the paragraph Jade quotes should be read in two halves - i.e. that the two-storey building had been added by 1945, but that the conservatory demolition was at a later, unspecified date.

Osmund Bullock,

No, I've failed to make the link work, too: go to Wiki and put in "Athlone House"!

Martin Hopkinson,

The house dates from 1870-2 according to London 4 : North , p.413 in the Pevsner series . The sculpture was by John Birnie Philip who died in 1875 [there are drawings by him in the Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow, for one of his daughters, Beatrice , married Whistler, whose studio contents were given and bequeathed to the University of Glasgow by another daughter of Philip, Rosalind Birnie Philip]

Barbara Bryant,

It looks like in the space of less than 24 hours, the original question has been answered by the Art Detectives. Osmund, your access to primary source material is always very impressive. The image from The Builder of 1872 is particularly interesting. Just a matter of pinning down the date, although c.1950 still seems reasonable.

Wales: Artists and Subjects,

Thank you all for your comments and information, the original question has been answered and we can now add a location to Kyffin Williams' painting.