Completed British 20th C, except portraits 38 Who recognises this urban park scene?

NWM_OYM_7_2020
Topic: Subject or sitter

We wonder if anyone can help us identify the location and possible date of this oil painting by Bernard Dunstan that was kindly donated to Oriel Môn's art collection by The Cosman Keller Art and Music Trust.

Oriel Môn, Entry reviewed by Art UK

Completed, Outcome

This discussion is now closed. The location in Hampstead was identified and the painting has been retitled 'Vale of Health Hotel, Hampstead' and c. 1945-51 established as a date range.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the discussion. To anyone viewing this discussion for the first time, please see below for all the comments that led to this conclusion.

37 comments

Louis Musgrove,

Is it signed?? Is there a clear signature??

Oriel Môn,

it's not signed on the front, but B Dunstan is written on the reverse in pencil.

Louis Musgrove,

Ah- I was wondering if it was by his wife and got mixed up?????It does look very much like the style of her landscapes--?????

Jacinto Regalado,

It seems more like a car park, with more asphalt than grass.

Osmund Bullock,

What part of Kensington Gardens, Louis, looking in what direction and from where? What features in the painting suggest Kensington to you, as opposed to any one of the hundreds or thousands of other urban parks in the UK? Does the Victorian building on the left with its shop canopy (probably cast-iron & glass - once common, but mainly now gone) have some similarity to ones you know of that were or are in Kensington, rather than, say, Llandrindod Wells where many survive to this day ( https://bit.ly/3xqFZrj )? And is that a bandstand centre left (though it looks more like an economy-sized big-top)? Was there ever such a thing at the edge of Kensington Gardens? Perhaps at least Bernard Dunstan had some sort of connection to Kensington - did he live nearby, or often paint there, do you know? You must, I'm sure, have *some* substantive reason for suggesting Kensington...

Louis Musgrove,

Well Osmund- as you ask- and I was only asking to see if anyone else agreed-- firstly I don't think it is a bandstand,but a Merry go Round. Look carefully. Secondly the Dunstans lived and worked in London in later life-so a London scene is more likely-.Also I don't think it is by Bernard ,but by Diana Armfield,his wife,More like her style. And as you said earlier,one car park looks like another,as do Georgian houses. :-)

David Smith,

This photograph confirms that the painting is of the Vale of Health in Hampstead: https://www.londonpicturearchive.org.uk/view-item?i=71434&WINID=1619609220251 The building is the old vale of Health Hotel. 'In 1777, a pond was created in order to drain the marshland so that houses could be built on Hampstead Heath, creating the small village which came to be known as the Vale of Health. In 1863, The Suburban Hotel Company built the popular Vale of Health Hotel on the land. It was later converted into flats and artist studios. Artists who had studios in the hotel included Stanley Spencer, from 1914 to 1927, and Henry Lamb, who painted his portrait of Lytton Strachey there in 1912. In 1964, after this painting was completed, the hotel was demolished and replaced by Spencer House, named after the hotel's most famous resident.' (Text taken from here: http://burghhouse.museumssites.com/the_collection/browse-the-collection/vale-of-health-schwarz-2005-44)

Osmund Bullock,

Well done, David - that certainly seems to be it. Finding the right place is even more impressive in the light of the artist's confusing framing of the view. He (or she if Louis is right) has wholly excluded what would normally be the dominant foreground water in favour of a big sky, and that gives a very different feel to the whole scene.

I'm attaching a couple of images: one from the same basic viewpoint that's slightly clearer than the heavily watermarked London Picture Archive version you linked, the other taken from a different angle but showing the hotel in more detail. There is an informative discussion of the hotel's history (and that of two other hotels nearby) in this blog https://bit.ly/3ntvdvI. It includes an explanation of the merry-go-round, which seems to have been part of a mini-fairground associated with a privately-owned travellers' site that is still there today - the caravans can be seen in the second posted image.

2 attachments
Osmund Bullock,

Louis, I'm sorry if I came over as being rather aggressive - I was just trying to push you into giving us the thinking behind your suggestion. I'm afraid I can get rather frustrated when people fire off (apparently) random ideas on here without any sort of explanation - as AD exhorts us, "Provide evidence or explain the reasoning behind your opinions".

As it turns out you were on more-or-less the right track, and correct about both a merry-go-round and a London location...but how could we know it?!

Jacinto Regalado,

I'm certainly no expert on Dunstan nor his wife Diana Armfield, but based on their works on Art UK, I think this picture could be by him, and to my eye it looks more like his work than hers.

That's an impressive feat of identification given that the building no longer exists, especially given the odd framing Osmund mentions. The latter is less odd, however, if the Hampstead location was putting the artist in mind of the 'big skies' studies that Constable did when living in Hampstead in the early 1800s. If Dunstan ever lived in or near Hampstead (and I've no idea) that might also suggest a date.

Osmund Bullock,

Andrew H B Dunstan married Diana M Armfield at Hampstead in 1949 Q1.

Osmund Bullock,

Electoral rolls list Diana Armfield at 7 Lambolle Rd, Belsize Park, NW3** from 1947-49 (though registration usually takes place the previous autumn), and after their marriage both Diana and Bernard are shown there 1949-52; in 1949, too, Bernard's RA exhibiting address was 'The Studio' at the same address, which is a walk of about 1½ miles to the presumed viewpoint on the opposite (S) side of the Vale of Health pond.

Earlier on, in 1945 & '46, Bernard exhibited at the RA from Turner's Close, NW11, which is close to the NW edge of the Hampstead Heath Extension. Cutting straight across the Heath on foot, this is pretty much the same distance as Lambolle Rd from the pond, but in the opposite direction.

Bernard next exhibited at the RA in 1952, by which time the couple were living in Kew, and there they stayed; one of his RA exhibits in '53 was of a cricket match on Kew Green, about ¾ mile from their house, so it would seem he at least occasionally liked to paint locally. Though our work has the feeling (to me) of a somewhat unresolved sketch, and seems unlikely to have been exhibited, it would be interesting if anyone can find mention of any other landscapes of Hampstead by Dunstan or Armfield. Failing any more precise dating pointers, I think it would be reasonable to date it as "probably c.1945-51".

Perhaps we should contact the Chris Beetles Gallery, who exclusively represent his estate and might know his earlier work...

[**Apparently this was the home of her sister Kate.]

David Smith,

What interesting additions to my chance discovery. A bit of background: I was the 'middle man' for the transfer of the painting between the KCAaMT and OM. I had become acquainted with both organisations through an interest in Kyffin Williams, having taught (physics) at Highgate School, where he had been Art Master from 1944-73, for thirty years. Knowing that the picture had been amongst Milein Cosman's possessions I suspected that the location might have been Hampstead Heath as she and her husband had lived close by and Googling 'house with veranda bridge hampstead' produced the image that I circulated. (I thought that I could make out a bridge in the image!) Coincidentally the blog that Osmund subsequently highlighted yesterday was written by a Highgate alumnus with whom I am occasionally in contact.

Louis Musgrove,

No worries Osmund .:-) . So the car park turned out to be a Lake! Ah well-that's Impressionism. I wonder what happened to the Merry Go Round?

Mark Wilson,

There are photos of the Vale of Health Hotel as it was in 1948 in a recent post on the excellent A London Inheritance blog:

https://alondoninheritance.com/london-villages/vale-of-health/

which confirms the appearance at about the time of the painting, though the pictures we taken in the Winter so the scene is less festive and are from a different angle. There are also modern photos taken from similar positions, which confirm the caravans of the fairground people are still there, though I can't see the merry-go-round.

The use of the Hotel for artists studios stopped in 1939 (https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol9/pp71-73) and it seems to have reverted to being a place of entertainment, though some association may have remained.

If there is any doubt about the authorship of the painting, I suppose you could always Diana Armfield, who is still painting away at 100 (or at least she was two months ago):

https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/magazine-diana-armfield-ra-flowers

I confess that I am loath to bring this discussion to a close with the possibilities of a more accurate title and more specific dating proposed by Pieter and Osmund to hand.

When David revealed the photograph of the Vale of Health Hotel, the vital piece of the jigsaw fell swiftly into place and an early Dunstan found its niche in the artist’s oeuvre. I can’t help feeling however that the revised title of the picture should reflect this and at least contain the word ‘Hotel’, and while I don’t object to Pieter’s ‘Sky Study’, the painting is obviously more than that. Why not simply ‘Vale of Health Hotel, Hampstead’.

Osmund mentions Dunstan’s studio at Turner’s Close, c. 1945-6, before his marriage to Diana Armfield in 1949, and while he does not appear to have shown at the Royal Academy during these years, Dunstan was a regular exhibitor at the New English Art Club (NEAC) from then onwards. In the winter exhibition in 1945, he showed a work entitled Hampstead Heath (no 206). I’ve not consulted newspaper reviews, but it would be interesting if this sketch related to that or another exhibited work. Not long thereafter, Dunstan obtained his first teaching job at the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol and until he moved in with Diana, lived in Clifton. Lambolle Road, which he refers to as the ‘Hampstead Flat’, receives several mentions in his memoir (Giles Auty introd. The Paintings of Bernard Dunstan, 1993, David & Charles Ltd) – one recalling a morning visit from Dr Roland, of Roland, Browse and Delbanco, who had come to select work for an exhibition, and found them both still in bed. As Osmund indicates, thereafter, with a growing family, they moved to Kew, and the 1945 picture remains the only recognizable Hampstead Heath title among the many shown in annual NEAC exhibitions.

Back around 2003 when researching the history of the NEAC, I visited Bernard and Diana in Kew – a wonderful experience. They could not have been more helpful. Bernard was generous with his recollections of the club in the immediate post-war years and talked of his great admiration for Sickert, Bonnard and Vuillard. They were a lovely couple. Diana, who had the downstairs front room as a studio, is now being celebrated in Andrew Lambirth, Diana Armfield: A Lyrical Eye, (Paul Holberton Publishing) and to be published this month.

Memories of the Dunstan generation are now dying out and this is why David’s intervention on this little picture is so valuable. So many thanks to him and all others involved. Finally, I’m no expert on Bernard’s work, but I can only agree with Jacinto that this is clearly a ‘BD’ and not a ‘DA’.

Louis Musgrove,

There is a small painting attributed to BD -titled Kensington Gardens. It has a similar feel and colour palette. Available on pinterest.

Many thanks Louis - will have a look at it. I should also have thanked Mark for his reminder that the Hotel had been used by artists up until 1939. A useful note. I have David Dunstan's email and will let him have the final say on the attribution question.

JAN MARSH 02,

for years the Vale of Health was the winter quarters for fairground rides, which came out on to Heath at Easter

Extract from a piece in the 'i' newspaper, 18 May 2021, taken from Hunter Davis's new book 'London Parks: a stroll around...' (Simon & Schuster). He and his wife married in June 1960 and...

'We moved into a flat...in a road called the Vale of Health - a little oasis tucked into [Hampstead] Heath.

Shelley sailed paper boats on the Vale of Health Pond and Keats lived nearby [in Downshire Hill] - although by 1911 it was described as "vulgarised" by the presences of the pub, tea gardens, mery-go-rounds and slot machines.

The name Vale of Health is supposed to come from it being one of the places to escape the Great Plague of 1665. There is no historical proof of this, but traditionally it has always been considered a pretty healthy place.

It did not quite work out that way for me. Our bedroom window overlooked the pond. In the winter the misty, moisty air crept into our bedroom and caused me to have the most awful asthma attacks. We only stayed there two years...'

As indicated in an earlier posting, I contacted Professor David Dunstan regarding this little picture. He has discussed it with his mother, Diana Armfield, and writes.

'I showed Diana the discussion on ArtDetective and she was fascinated! Moreover, David Smith had already asked her about the Hampstead Heath painting. Her answer on that is unequivocal - one of Bernard's, definitely, and she couldn't imagine why anyone would think it might have been one of hers! She took a while to take in that the Vale of Health is far from the north-west - Golders Green end - or the Kenwood area of the Heath. The connections with Turner's Close NW11 mentioned by Osmund Bullock is a bit of a red herring - Bernard's parents moved there from Kensington for a couple of years before retiring definitively to Cambridge, but Bernard didn't have a studio or anything there. He might simply have stayed overnight occasionally, and might have used it as an address for sending-in to the RA. But the Vale of Health is as close as the Heath gets to Lambolle Road, so Diana does think this painting would have been done "from Lambolle Road".

It is interesting that Osmund implies that Bernard did not exhibit at the RA 1947-1951. Diana tells the story that after the war, she saw Bernard's picture hung in the RA - and she sent him a postcard of congratulations to his Bristol address, which was in the RA catalogue, to which he responded at once by coming up to London to see her! So when can that have been if his RA address in 45/46 was Turners Close?

Finally, Diana expressly asked me to add that she loves getting such enquiries - opportunities to think back on the past and reminisce - not any kind of trouble at all!'

Dunstan’s Bristol addresses given in the New English Art Club catalogues for 1947 and 1948 winter exhibitions were: 21 Canynge Road, Clifton and Arvalee, Clifton Downs Road, Clifton respectively. Could it be that one or other of these catalogues provided the source of contact between the couple?

With many thanks to all our contributors, and especially to Diana Armfield, David Dunstan, David Smith and Osmund Bullock, I now propose to bring this discussion to a close.

Osmund Bullock,

I have a more substantial apology to make, Kenneth. I don't know how it happened, but the information I previously gave about Bernard's exhibiting at the RA was wrong in several particulars: he in fact showed there every year from 1945 to 1949, and the gap was only in 1950 & 1951. I also gave the NW11 address incorrectly - it was Turner Close, not 'Turner's':

1945 (from Saunder's Passage, Oxford): 'Oxford from Hinksey Hill' & 'Liliane'
1946 (from Turner Close, NW11): 'Houses by the Canal' & 'Gillian'
1947 (from Turner Close): 'The Avon Gorge' & 'By the Fire'
1948 (from Luard Rd, Cambridge): 'Spring in Oxford'
1949 (from Lambolle Rd): 'Bradford-on-Avon' & 'The Chestnut Trees'
1952 (from Kew): 'The Dee Valley' & 'The Kitchen'
1953 (from Kew): 'Cricket on Kew Green' & 'The Nursery'

I think that Diana's 75 year-old recollection of how she got in touch with Bernard may be *very* slightly askew (though her powers of recall at 100 are clearly better than mine at a mere 70). Either, as you suggest, it was actually at NEAC in 1946/47 that she saw his painting(s); or it may be that she did indeed see one at Burlington House, but wrote to him at Turner Close. His parents would of course have forwarded it on to him in Bristol immediately, and one can easily see how Bristol might have quickly eclipsed Golder's Green in her memory. It's also quite possible I am talking complete nonsense, and that a different edition of the RA catalogue bore the Bristol address; I rather hope so. Either way, it has been quite wonderful to read her input - thank you so much for enabling that.

Osmund Bullock,

Oh, and in the light of Diana's pretty firm belief that our painting was done from Lambolle Road, and the explanation that Turner Close was probably just an accommodation address (ditto Luard Rd, I imagine), I think we can narrow that date range further to c.1948-51.

Many thanks, Osmund, for your refinement of the possible date range for The Vale of Health Hotel, Hampstead, and for the correction of your earlier posting on Dunstan’s Royal Academy exhibits and his parents’ address at Turner Close – not Turner’s Close. Dunstan actually states in his memoir that his first pictures at the RA were ‘an Oxford landscape – the first one I sold – and a portrait, in the Renoir manner, of a beautiful fellow student’ (p.16) – presumably the first two on your list.

I often wish the Royal Academy could obtain funding to digitize its catalogues and place them online. Sets of ‘Graves’ and the post-1905 series are hard to find at a reasonable price, and sometimes shortened picture titles can be confusing.

So with thanks to Pieter, Jan Marsh and Mark Wilson for additional notes on the Vale of Health, and one last check in the Dunstan memoir, I think we can bring this discussion to a close.

Thanks: I agree about the problem of eay online access to some standard listings like the RA catalogues (though its understandable for 'dictionaries' still being sold commercially). I've only recently found that at least my easiest access to Graves RA volumes to 1904 is the Art UK 'catalogues' link under 'About'/ Researching pics) at the top here. The problem via Hathi etc is too often that IT 'listers' don't think to include in their links either volume number for any that are part of a series (of 8 in the case of Graves) or/and the alphabetic slot (eg 'Sacco to Tofano' as in Graves vol 7) that they cover: Art UK is the only link I've found that has all the title pages visibly along the bottom, albeit not in order, so deals with both problems at a stroke.

While it's not my call on the title suggested here I still think the subject is really the sky rather than the place given there's only 'half a hotel' shown.

I have been in touch with the Collection to make them aware of Kenneth's conclusion to the summary findings Saturday, so they can comment before action is taken updating the record.

Osmund Bullock,

This is the direct link to the Royal Academy's digitized catalogue search page: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/search/exhibition-catalogues.

I use nothing else nowadays. As Andrew implies, it's a better resource than Chronicle250. It searches the whole catalogue including the artists' address lists, and misses very little; once you've got the hang of how it works, it's simple and effective to use. It also includes catalogues of many other exhibitions held at Burlington House, not just the Summer Exhibitions; there are even ones for other organizations exhibiting there - for example the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, which seems to have used the building in some years during the 1920s: https://bit.ly/3wsWYrv

Ian Jones from the Collection has commented, email, 06/07/21 'Since asking about this small painting in our collection I’ve been thrilled to see all the comments and interest from the Art Detective users. We’ve certainly learnt a lot about the work and it’s fantastic that we’ve been able to confirm the location and rough date. We are therefore content with the conclusion reached and are happy for you to update the record with the amended information. With thanks to AD and to all who posted.'