Signed Masterpiece Sketch Low Fell From Lanthwaite Hill Cumbria Lake District By Alfred Wainwright

Title 🖼️ Low Fell, from Lanthwaite Hill
Original pen-and-ink masterpiece landscape drawing | Lake District, Cumbria | Signed by Alfred Wainwright (1907–1991)

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Subject & medium ✍️

A beautifully observed Lake District view of Low Fell (Cumbria), drawn from near the summit of Lanthwaite Hill—a classic Wainwright vantage that combines pastoral field geometry with the fell’s distinctive mass and ridge line. The work is executed in pen and ink on paper, the medium most closely associated with Wainwright’s best-known output and the unmistakable visual language of his Lakeland publications.

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Composition & technique 🎨

This is a quietly powerful example of Wainwright’s draughtsmanship: precise, economical, and richly descriptivewithout ever becoming overworked. Tonal depth is achieved entirely through line density, direction, and layered hatching rather than wash—giving the scene a timeless clarity and an immediately recognisable Wainwright “hand.”

In the foreground, darker, more emphatic mark-making anchors woodland and scrub, while the mid-ground opens into a measured patchwork of fields and boundaries that reads almost cartographically. The fell itself is constructed through controlled cross-hatching and contour-led linework that conveys slope, texture, and distance with remarkable efficiency. Above, the sky is treated with light, restrained strokes—suggesting cloud movement while keeping the landscape dominant. The absence of figures (typical of Wainwright) gives the image a contemplative stillness: the land, and only the land, holds the stage.

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Historical significance 📚⛰️

This composition is documented as “Drawing 231: Low Fell, from Lanthwaite Hill” and is recorded as forming the title page for the Low Fell chapter in The Western Fells.
Wainwright’s seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells was reproduced from his hand-produced pen-and-ink manuscript pages, and the original publication run spans 1955–1966.

Date proof (mid-1960s): Because this specific view is tied to the Low Fell chapter/title-page usage in The Western Fells(first published 1966), the most defensible working date for an original, guide-era drawing of this composition is mid-1960s, prior to publication—approximately c. 1964–1966.

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About the artist 🎨

Alfred Wainwright MBE (1907–1991) is one of Britain’s most loved fell-writers and landscape draughtsmen. His Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells—created as fully handwritten and hand-illustrated manuscript pages—became a definitive cultural document of Lakeland walking and remains deeply collected worldwide.

Original Wainwright works have demonstrated strong market demand at auction, including a widely reported record £10,200 result for a pen-and-ink sketch sold at a Cumbrian saleroom in 2020.

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Signed ✍️✅

Signed in pencil “A Wainwright” lower right, and titled “LOW FELL” lower left.

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Framed 🖤🪟

Mounted with a recent white border mat for a crisp, gallery-style presentation.
Framed in a luxurious Larson Juhl Baroque-style black lacquered Radiata Pine moulding.
Protected by AR70 museum-grade glass, offering excellent clarity and UV protection.

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Dimensions Framed 📏

47.2 cm (H) × 52 cm (W) × 5.5 cm (D)

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Provenance 🧾🏛️

Private collection, Cumbria. Acquired from a private Cumbrian collection and subsequently sourced via a notable Cumbrian auction house / long-established saleroom, accompanied by a Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD label verso.

Literature linkage / identification: Documented as Drawing 231: “Low Fell, from Lanthwaite Hill,” recorded as forming the title page of the Low Fell chapter in The Western Fells (first published 1966), supporting the mid-1960s dating framework.

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Why you’ll love it ✅💚

✅ Museum-grade monochrome presence — timeless, elegant, and interior-friendly
✅ A genuine Lakeland subject with strong Wainwright collector appeal 🌄
✅ Historically anchored to Wainwright’s mid-1960s guide era (pre-1966 publication context) 📚
✅ Signed and titled — the details collectors look for ✍️
✅ Premium framing package — Larson Juhl moulding + AR70 museum glass 🖤🪟
✅ A meaningful gift for walkers, Cumbrians, and British topographical art collectors 🎁

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Condition report 🔍

The artwork presents in fine used condition. Light, age-appropriate foxing may be present, consistent with an older paper sheet. The frame is in very good condition with minor natural imperfections consistent with artisan-made presentation.