Since its foundation in 1988, the gallery has followed two closely connected paths. It began with the careful acquisition and presentation of works from the secondary market, guided above all by judgement and an eye for quality. In later years, this activity grew to include the representation of living artists, whose work now forms an important part of the gallery’s identity.
This exhibition returns, in part, to those earlier origins. Over the past two years, Jonathan has assembled a group of works chosen not to illustrate a theme or period, but simply because they are good: works of character, conviction, and presence.
Although the gallery has never been defined by a single style, a sustained interest in the natural world runs throughout this collection. It appears in different forms - landscape, still life, animal painting, botanical study, and the representation of the human figure - and reflects, in part, Jonathan’s instinct for works grounded in direct experience of nature.
This attention to the natural world emerges in paintings that describe particular places, conditions of light, and living forms. Landscapes by Lamorna Birch, John Vicat Cole, Terrick Williams, and Anna Sweeten evoke coastal brightness, the quiet of the Yorkshire Dales, reflections along the Seine, or the stillness of winter in Maine. Sculpture and animal painting turn instead to the presence of the body itself. Works by Břetislav Benda and David Wynne address the human figure in sculptural terms, while paintings by William Huggins, Jay Kirkman, James Lynch, and Gary Stinton continue a long tradition of studying animals directly, with close attention to anatomy, movement, and temperament rather than narrative setting.
Across the exhibition, these subjects are treated through different pictorial languages. The nude in Anthony Devas’s painting is shaped through subtle shifts of tone and light, while landscape ranges from the muted atmosphere of Walter Richard Sickert to more descriptive views of place. Still life and botanical painting introduce a more concentrated scale of attention. The highly resolved studies by Brigid Edwards, Kate Nessler, and Paul Osborne Jones continue the tradition of recording plants with both scientific precision and artistic sensitivity, and the still life by Diarmuid Kelley shows how a single natural form can become the focus of sustained looking. Together, these works demonstrate varied ways of making an image, from tonal suggestion to exact description and careful finish.
What binds the collection, then, is not theory but judgement. Jonathan’s choices reflect many years of looking, an instinct for works that remain compelling beyond fashion or period. The result is a collection both eclectic and coherent, shaped by experience, patience, and confidence in artistic quality.
