Racing Clouds

Aileen Mary Elliott, RSMA NS (1896 – 1966)

Oil on board

11¼” x 15¼” (28.6 cm x 38.8 cm)

Provenance: The artist’s family. Certificate of Authenticity verso.

Widely acclaimed in her lifetime as an artist of outstanding talent, Aileen Elliott exhibited at the principal galleries in Britain, including The Royal Academy, as well as at the Paris Salon and in The United States. She was a founder member of The Royal Society of Marine Artists and her pictures are testament to her passion for the sea, ships and racing yachts. She loved to sit by the shore or on the bank of a river estuary, painting billowing sails under huge, cloudy skies. Much of her work was executed between the wars and captures not only the sheer thrill of sailing, but also the spirit and atmosphere of Britain in the 1930s. Like many artists, Aileen Elliott found the coastline and harbours of the South West irresistible, and, throughout the 1930s, she spent many holidays with her family at Appledore and Instow on the River Torridge in North Devon.

Today, Aileen Elliott’s paintings remain highly collectable. In oils, her style is wonderfully uninhibited, with strong emphasis on light and colour; the fine detail of her watercolours is striking; and, whatever the medium, her work is underlined by outstanding technical ability and unerring draughtsmanship. This example was among a studio collection which, for many years, had lain undisturbed in the attic of her family’s home.