Alan Firth

[davidwheeler]

I am not sure if this is the right forum, but I could not find any other relevant.

Is anyone, or any body, interested in the work of Alan Firth? I remember Tim Coghlan of Braunston Marina staged an exhibition of his work but that was many years ago. Even longer ago than that, I purchased three of his works from his first exhibition in Greenwich in 1978. I would have bought more but I had to carry them across London and down to Devon and they were heavy - in those days Alan Firth made his own frames for his paintings. When I met him many years later he told me that the exhibition had been a success but not for him. He never got paid. He did not hold that against me, though.

Anyone remember this artist, for many the best waterway artist of his generation?

[David Mack]

Alan Firth original on my living room wall. Ovaltine pair near Braunston. Purchased around 1990.

(Not the greatest of photos due to reflections)

[John Brightley]

I'm certainly interested in Alan's work. He was very talented. I would love to have one of his original paintings, but have never seen one for sale. There are many prints and postcards of his work around though, and Wedgewood plates featuring his paintings are surprisingly cheap on eBay. 

Tim Coghlan has written an article about Alan which is available to download from the Braunston Marina website here: 

https://braunstonmarina.co.uk/waters-under-the-bridge/

Edited October 10, 2023 by John Brightley

[haggis]

I remember Alan Firth. Many years ago I wanted a set of place mate with canal scenes but couldn't find any. It was suggested I contact Alan and ask if he would sell me some prints so that I could have mats made. He actually gave me 12 photos of his work which I had blown up to A4 size and had the mats made. They are beautiful and are used regularly. I contacted Alan and he said he would like to see them so the next time we came down south we visited Alan and showed them what we had had done. He gave us a framed print of one of his paintings which we have on Kelpies wall.

I wish I had more of his work and I have fond memories of him.

[David Schweizer]

I am a great fan of Alan Firth's work, and met him several times at the Braunston Show. I have a collection of his small prints, some of which I framed and mounted on the cabin walls of Helvetia. Interesingly, I had never seen the Ovaltine pair painting (or print) shown in David Mack's post. Unfortunately no one seems to have taken on selling his prints, and they are almost impossible to obtain these days, except via ebay.

 

 

Edited October 10, 2023 by David Schweizer

[David Mack]

48 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

 Interesingly, I had never seen the Ovaltine pair painting (or print) shown in David Mack's post. Unfortunately no one seems to have taken on selling his prints, and they are almost impossible to obtain these days, except via ebay.

That is the original painting. He threw in a small framed print of it a well. I have never seen another copy. One of the reasons we bought it was that it is a little different from his usual subject of green and reduns.

Alan did say that he was hoping IWA would use the image on one of their Christmas Cards, but the scene is misty rather than wintry and it never happened.

 

After Alan died someone was selling his remaining stock of prints at the Braunston Historic Boat gathering, and I don't recall seeing any on sale since.

[haggis]

That is the painting we have a print of! 

[Iain_S]

“Backload from Brum”

Set during WWII, as the only time the Ovaltine boats carried coal.

[alan_fincher]

41 minutes ago, Iain_S said:

“Backload from Brum”

Set during WWII, as the only time the Ovaltine boats carried coal.

Am I misunderstanding your post, but surely coal is about the only thing the Ovaltine boats did carry.

 

i should add that I also like the Alan Firth paintings, an we have several framed ones on Flamingo.  My all out favourites though are by Garth Allen

[David Mack]

1 hour ago, Iain_S said:

“Backload from Brum”

Set during WWII, as the only time the Ovaltine boats carried coal.

I've always assumed some artistic licence involved as the boats seem to be travelling northbound on the North Oxford. Both are loaded, but William appears to be carrying some wooden barrels, possibly on top of another load.

20 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

Am I misunderstanding your post, but surely coal is about the only thing the Ovaltine boats did carry.

Agreed. Presumably coal from the Warwickshire coalfield to the Ovaltine factory at King's Langley. And I imagine usually empty for the northbound run.

[LEO]

I have some  Alan Firth prints, but have given most away, I went to a talk he gave to Chiltern IWA branch at Amersham, about 1980ish and bought some framed prints, my only observation, complaint was, he painted the the same scene and then reproduced it changing the season/time of day..........I went onto Harley Crossley paintings, having met him at a show at Braunston, he had a poor, wet show, was packing up a was pleased to sell me a nice original.

[GUMPY]

Another excellent painter was Brian Collings. He also did a lot of Steam train paintings.

I have two oil on canvas originals and a print  that I really have nowhere to put now we have moved off the boat.

 

Icebreaking

 

Over and Under

 

And the print

Winter Workings 

[davidwheeler]

Right, I have endeavoured to upload one of my Firth paintings. But I may have got it wrong - it looks pretty small.  This one is dated 1978, as are the other two. I cannot now remember the exact venue where I bought them but it was in a small gallery in Greenwich that same year. I think the event must have been publicised in WW. It was, so he told me, his first London venue. Some of the paintings seemed barely dry. One at least suffered a bit from inherent damp. Anyway, this one was entitled by Alan Firth 'Morning Mists. Globe Inn , Linslade'. One of the others is of exactly the same composition as the painting which appeared as the front cover of Waterways World November 1977. Save for the weather. So, although we were not the first collectors, we were in the vanguard. If I can, I will download that one as well but it does not always work. The download speed here in the wilds of Brittany is abysmally slow as am I in trying to get it to work at all.

Anyone know if his works have been catalogued?

[David Schweizer]

2 hours ago, LEO said:

I have some  Alan Firth prints, but have given most away, I went to a talk he gave to Chiltern IWA branch at Amersham, about 1980ish and bought some framed prints, my only observation, complaint was, he painted the the same scene and then reproduced it changing the season/time of day..........I went onto Harley Crossley paintings, having met him at a show at Braunston, he had a poor, wet show, was packing up a was pleased to sell me a nice original.

 

Isn't that what Monet did, and David Hockney still does?

[davidwheeler]

This another one. this one was entitled 'Misty Morning' although Alan Firth's pencil annotation on the reverse has faded over the years. Almost exactly the same composition as the snow scene on Waterway World's November 1977 cover, but nevertheless none the worse for that, don't you think?

[agg221]

4 hours ago, GUMPY said:

Another excellent painter was Brian Collings. He also did a lot of Steam train paintings.

I have two oil on canvas originals and a print  that I really have nowhere to put now we have moved off the boat.

 

Icebreaking

 

 

I particularly like the Icebreaking painting - as you may have spotted, ice boats are my particular subject of interest. I have a painting of a collection of moored up ice boats by Garth Allen which he did specifically for me from memory, together with the story that goes with it.

 

Alec

[Frankgh]

I found some other works here: https://arthive.com/artists/64923~Alan_Firth/works/type:painting

[davidwheeler]

Not on the subject of Alan Firth but other waterways painters, I bought one by Ian Kemp of Dadsford Wharf, Stourbridge. Anyone else know of other paintings by him? He had some for sale at the NIA Waterways Exhibition in 2001.

Here is another Firth. This one he called 'early Start'. These were relatively early works I think. I wonder how he progressed.

[Iain_S]

20 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

Am I misunderstanding your post, but surely coal is about the only thing the Ovaltine boats did carry.

 

i should add that I also like the Alan Firth paintings, an we have several framed ones on Flamingo.  My all out favourites though are by Garth Allen

That was “as told by the artist” 🤔 Alan said usual cargo was chocolate crumb from London docks, and empty back.

[stagedamager]

i have a set of his winter plates, which I am very fond of.

[Ray T]

A while ago Alan produced a calendar, a couple of prints.

April, Stoke Bruerne

July Cropredy

 

 

Another artist worthy of note, Trevor Bolt.

 

Edited October 11, 2023 by Ray T

[davidwheeler]

This is an example of Ian Kemp's work. There are a lot more examples on his boat restoration website. This one reminds me of what I used to see in the 1950s as being entirely commonplace. There would always be another one along in a minute. 

This may not be the forum for it, but  would it not be an idea to get together a representative collection of waterways paintings so that more people could enjoy them? The impression I have based only on my own experience of boating and boat owning since the '50s is that these painters of waterways and their boats arose following the rapid rise in interest in the canals from the late 1960s. If that is right then they form part of the canals history and heritage. 

[Frankgh]

That is a great idea for a thread! 

[Ray T]

Well portrayed by Thelwell.

 

More known for his railway art, Terence Cuneuo.

There is no mouse to look for.

 

Also B J Freeman.

Edited October 13, 2023 by Ray T

[ditchcrawler]

39 minutes ago, Ray T said:

Well portrayed by Thelwell.

 

More known for his railway art, Terence Cuneuo.

There is no mouse to look for.

 

Also B J Freeman.

The top one would make a cracking jigsaw