Antique Oil Painting of Sailing Boats After Turner in Gilt Frame, Signed J. P. Barnes

Pale golden sails lean hard into a churning sea in this atmospheric antique painting, signed J. P. Barnes and inscribed after Turner in the lower left corner. A large sailing boat races through the swell in the foreground with a fleet strung out behind her, their sails glowing like candle flames against a hazy coastline and a soft blue sky. The water is all movement, worked in thick swirls of cream, caramel and grey, and a small buoy bobs in the waves at the lower left.

Copying the great masters was how artists learned their trade in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and J. M. W. Turner, with his luminous skies and wild seas, was a favourite to study. The back of the canvas tells us more about where this one came from. It is stamped by Winsor and Newton, the London artists' colourmen, and the frame carries the label of Aldridge Bros., The Little Gallery in Worthing, who were gilders, frame makers, printsellers and suppliers of artists' materials, so it was very likely painted and framed on the Sussex coast.

Painted in oil on canvas, it measures 67 x 52 cm including its frame. The gilt frame has decorative corner mounts and plenty of honest age, with small losses to the gilding and gesso along the edges and corners that show white beneath. The canvas has some age toning on the back, and the paint surface has a few small specks consistent with its years. It is strung and ready to hang.

The warm honey, cream and soft blue palette looks beautiful against white, stone or pale grey walls. Hang it above a fireplace, a console or a bed, or lean it on a deep shelf with a few shells and some old glass for a relaxed coastal look. It would sit equally well in a seaside house, a country hallway or a study with books and brass.