Mid Century Dutch Oil Painting of a Windmill and Cottages by Still Water

A windmill at the water's edge, a cluster of red roofed cottages and a small rowing boat drifting past. This mid century oil on canvas has all the charm of the Dutch landscape tradition, painted with the loose, confident brushwork of an artist who knew the scene well. Blue skies break through soft cloud, the trees are dense and green, and the whole thing is reflected back in still water. It is a painting that feels like a summer afternoon in Holland, which is exactly the point.

Height: 48cm (18.9in)
Width: 38cm (15in)
Measured including the frame

Windmill scenes like this were painted in huge numbers across the Netherlands from the 1940s through to the 1970s, often by trained artists producing work for the home and tourist market. They were bought as souvenirs and heirlooms, hung in hallways and living rooms, and passed down. Many are unsigned or signed only with initials, and this one carries a small signature to the lower left that we have not been able to attribute. What matters more is the quality, and here the composition and the handling of light on water are properly good.

The painting sits in its original cream and gilt frame, a moulded wooden frame that suits a picture like this perfectly. The cream has aged to a soft ivory with a few light marks and rubs to the paint on the edges, which we think adds to it. The canvas is clean and tight, and the frame has a hanging cord fitted to the back. It measures 48 x 38 cm including the frame and is ready to hang.

We would hang it above a console table with a couple of brass candlesticks and a jug of garden flowers, or let it hold its own on a landing where the blues and greens will lift a plain wall. It also works beautifully in a gallery wall of small oils and watercolours, where its red roofs give the whole arrangement a warm anchor. In a kitchen with painted cabinets in cream or sage it looks as though it has always been there.

A lovely, honest piece of mid century Dutch art with a frame that is as good as the picture.