Peaceful Oil Landscape Title: Still Waters on the Conway, North Wales – A Victorian River Pool By Thomas Spinks
🏷️ Peaceful Oil Landscape Title: Still Waters on the Conway, North Wales – A Victorian River Pool
By Thomas Spinks
Circa 1890 | Late 19th Century Victorian Period
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🌄 Subject & Medium
A fine British Victorian landscape oil painting capturing a serene and picturesque reach of the River Conway (Conwy) in North Wales, created during the artist’s celebrated Welsh period.
🎨 Oil on canvas
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🧩 Composition & Technique
This accomplished landscape is anchored by a calm, reflective pool along the River Conway—an enduringly admired motif among late Victorian painters. The left bank is shaped by raised, jagged stone boulders, giving the scene rugged structure and visual weight, while the right side transitions into softer ground with mature trees and an orchard-like clearing. Two grazing sheep introduce gentle pastoral character and provide a pleasing sense of scale.
In the foreground, a golden-brown tree rises between the river rocks, its warm tones acting as a strong focal point against the cooler greens and greys of the surrounding countryside. The river is painted with convincing depth and movement, catching light on its surface while retaining the presence of flowing water beneath.
Beyond the pool, the composition opens into distant hills and mountain forms, subtly handled to create atmospheric recession. Above, bright white clouds and patches of blue animate the sky, while a darker storm cloud gathering on the left introduces drama—an unmistakably North Welsh note. The palette is rich and balanced, uniting vibrant greens, muted greys, golden browns, earthy tones, and sky blues with confident, mature brushwork.
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🏛️ Historical Significance
Painted circa 1890, this work belongs to a period when North Wales—especially the Conway Valley and Bettws-y-Coed—had become one of Britain’s most important centres for landscape painting. Artists were drawn by the combination of winding rivers, wooded valleys, dramatic rock formations, and ever-changing skies.
Victorian collectors valued such scenes for their tranquillity, natural beauty, and sense of permanence, and paintings of this kind were frequently chosen as prominent display pieces for homes and offices. Today they remain highly sought-after, offering both decorative impact and genuine geographic and historical character.
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👨🎨 About the Artist
Thomas Spinks (1847–1927) was a recognised British landscape painter active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Recorded as living in London in 1880, he exhibited regularly between 1880 and 1907, including at major institutions such as the Walker Art Gallery (Liverpool), Manchester Art Gallery, and the Royal Academy.
In 1889, Spinks relocated to Bettws-y-Coed, North Wales—a move that strongly shaped his output. His Welsh river and mountain landscapes from this period are widely considered among his most desirable works. His paintings have sold at auction internationally, with a recorded highest sale of US $6,650 at Christie’s, reflecting continued collector interest.
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✍️ Signed
✅ Signed “T. Spinks” by the artist in the lower corner.
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🖼️ Framed
✨ Presented in a fine original gilt frame, enhancing the warmth and depth of the painting and perfectly complementing its Victorian character. Ready to display.
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📏 Size
Frame dimensions (cm):
Height: 46.5 cm
Width: 62 cm
Depth: 5.5 cm
An excellent display size—large enough to make an impact while remaining easy to place in most interiors.
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🧾 Provenance
The reverse bears a Prestwich Fine Art label with handwritten details, together with provenance recorded as: private collection from the vendor, Mitchells (notable Lake District-based auction house), and subsequently curated by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD. Importantly, the original canvas retains a faint but legible maker’s stamp reading “WINSOR & NEWTON / LONDON.” This period colourmen’s stamp, applied directly to the canvas, is consistent with late 19th-century professional artists’ materials—supporting the painting’s date, authenticity, and quality.
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💚 Why You’ll Love It
✅ A classic Victorian Welsh landscape with timeless decorative appeal
✅ Painted on the River Conway near Bettws-y-Coed, one of Britain’s most celebrated artist locations
✅ Created during the artist’s North Wales residency, working directly from the landscape
✅ Signed by a recognised, exhibiting British landscape painter
✅ Retains a Winsor & Newton, London canvas stamp—an especially desirable period detail
✅ Strong, well-documented provenance
✅ A statement piece for an office, study, or refined home interior
✅ Heirloom-quality artwork—ideal to pass down through generations
✅ Ready to hang and guaranteed to spark conversation
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🧰 Condition Report
Offered in fine used condition. The painted surface is in good overall order. A repair has been carried out to the reverse of the canvas, with corresponding paint touch-up to the front where the repair occurred. There is age-related craquelure and some foxing, consistent with a late 19th-century oil on canvas. The frame shows general wear, including old repairs, chips, losses, and surface scratches, all commensurate with age and use.
