William Taylor Longmire Windermere Lake District Painting Antique Watercolour

William Taylor Longmire Windermere Lake District Watercolour, 1903

An evocative Edwardian Lake District watercolour by William Taylor Longmire (1841–1914), offering an elevated panoramic prospect across Windermere towards the Langdale landscape.

Highlights

* Original signed British watercolour
* William Taylor Longmire (1841–1914)
* Signed and dated 1903
* Artist-inscribed WINDERMERE
* Expansive panoramic composition
* Elevated Lake District viewpoint
* Sailing boats, wooded islands and distant mountains
* Langdale Pikes or wider Langdale group in the distance
* Possible Orrest Head or nearby viewpoint
* Rich natural palette of greens, ochres, browns, blues and muted violet
* GES BUR Studios label retained verso
* Famous Lord Hill Museum association recorded
* Later gilt frame with cream mount
* Attractive scale for residential and interior design projects

Introduction

A wonderfully decorative Lake District landscape by **William Taylor Longmire (1841–1914)**, painted during the mature period of the Cumbrian artist's career.

Dated 1903 and titled WINDERMERE by Longmire himself, the watercolour opens from a richly vegetated elevated foreground onto the lake and mountainous landscape beyond.

Trees, shrubs and grasses provide texture and warmth at the front of the composition. Windermere then stretches through the middle distance, enlivened by sailing boats, wooded islands and irregular sections of shoreline.

The distant mountains dissolve into softer blue-grey and violet tones, creating a particularly effective impression of depth and Lakeland atmosphere.

Catalogue Details

Artist: William Taylor Longmire (1841–1914)

Title: Windermere

Date: 1903

Medium: Watercolour on paper

Signed: W. T. Longmire

Inscribed: WINDERMERE

Image: 22 cm high × 33 cm wide

Framed: 37.5 cm high × 48 cm wide × 2 cm deep

Frame: Later gilt frame, cream mount and gilt inner line

Glazing: Protective glass

Decorative Character

The relatively intimate framed scale makes this an especially versatile landscape for interior use.

Its warm foreground greens, russets and ochres contrast beautifully with the cooler blue-grey mountains beyond, providing sufficient colour to give the work presence without overwhelming an interior.

The panoramic format works particularly well above a small console, writing desk or occasional table, while the work could equally form part of a collected arrangement of British landscapes and antique watercolours.

Windermere and Langdale

The mountain group beyond the lake is considered to represent the Langdale Pikes or wider Langdale group.

The National Trust preserves another Longmire composition depicting Windermere and the Langdale Pikes from Low Wood, while the Government Art Collection holds his earlier *Windermere* of 1867.

These works demonstrate that Windermere and its surrounding mountain scenery occupied Longmire throughout a substantial part of his career.

The elevated viewpoint in the present painting is compatible with the eastern side of Windermere. Orrest Head or nearby high ground provides a compelling geographical comparison, although the exact position remains unrecorded.

The Artist

Born at Troutbeck in 1841, Longmire grew up within the Lakeland environment that became the principal subject of his career.

His known works depict many of Cumbria's most celebrated landscapes, including Windermere, Grasmere, Ambleside, Rydal, Derwentwater, Coniston and the Langdale Pikes.

He remained closely connected with the region throughout his life and died in 1914.

Provenance

GES BUR Studios, Southport; printed trade label retained verso.

Privately loaned with the Famous Lord Hill Museum, Shropshire; association recorded in surviving documentation.

Subsequently curated and presented by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.

Condition Report

Fair antique condition consistent with age.

Scattered foxing and spotting are visible, particularly within the lighter sky, together with age-related paper toning.

A small tear, puncture or area of paper disturbance is visible towards the lower portion of the composition near the lake and shoreline.

The later gilt frame displays expected rubbing, scuffs, small chips and localised losses.

The watercolour has not been removed from its glazed frame during cataloguing.

Please examine all photographs carefully as part of the condition report.

Shipping

Worldwide shipping is available.

Owing to the glazed presentation of the framed watercolour, it will be professionally packaged using appropriate protective materials and dispatched fully insured.

International buyers are welcome. Please contact us for a destination-specific delivery quotation or to discuss any particular shipping requirements.

Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution

The artwork will be supplied with a Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution issued by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, recording the artwork’s catalogue details, attribution, provenance as stated, and details of the sale. This document accompanies the work as part of its ongoing ownership and provenance record.

Attribution and Research

The historical observations, provenance research, attribution analysis and contextual commentary presented within this catalogue entry represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®. They are offered in good faith as informed scholarly assessments based upon the available evidence, comparative research, published reference material and our experience within the international fine art market.

These observations should be understood as professional opinions rather than definitive statements of fact or guarantees of authorship, attribution, date, origin, provenance or historical interpretation. As with all historic works of art, future documentary discoveries, technical examination, conservation analysis or advances in academic research may refine, expand or revise current interpretations.

The suggested identification of the prominent mountain formation as the Langdale Pikes or wider Langdale group, together with Orrest Head or nearby elevated ground on the eastern side of Windermere as a possible viewpoint, is a topographical interpretation based upon the visible landscape, geographical context and comparative views.

The precise individual summits and exact position from which Longmire painted have not been independently documented and are therefore presented as considered possibilities rather than established facts.

Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®

Specialising in carefully curated British and European fine art, antiques and historic works of art.

Every artwork is professionally researched and catalogued using comparative scholarship, published reference material and more than two decades of experience within the international fine art market. We are committed to offering collectors works of artistic and historical merit accompanied by transparent provenance research, detailed catalogue descriptions and professional, client-focused service.

Additional photographs and further information are available upon request.