William Thornley – Hay barges at the mouth of the Medway (c. 1881 England)

1880

Oil on canvas

"Thornley" also inscribed and dated on the stretcher

12.00 inch wide   14.00 inch high

30.48 cm wide  35.56 cm high

From a private collector in East Anglia.

William Thornley, British, (fl1859-1898) – “Hay barges at the mouth of the Medway” (pair) – circa 1881. Both signed. Oil on canvas in a new English made swept and leafed frame. Inscribed and dated on stretcher.

Excellent. The pictures have been lightly cleaned, old re-lining.

“Hay barges at the mouth of the Medway” - a very good pair of atmospheric marines set on an important 19th century waterway. Painted by a man who liked to confuse others with the use in his professional life of variations of his name - William Thornley.
According to art historian Denys Brook-Hart, Thornley was actually a man called Charles Thornley who worked from an address in Paddington London, but later moved to Rochester in Kent. Although called Charles, his most known name was William Thornley, he would sell and exhibit his pictures under the names Charles Thornley, William Thornley, Hubert Thornley or variations of Thornbery, all these painters actually being the same man. Thornley flourished from 1859-1898 and exhibited at Royal Academy through out this period. He also exhibited at the British Institution from 1861 till its closure in 1867. His style was very distinctive and no matter what name he used to sign a particular painting, all his works were delightfully executed with atmosphere, presence and great detail.

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