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£4,500

Presentation: Framed
SN: 721
Signed u.l.: W.B.Gash
Oil on canvas, 30 by 25 ins (76 by 63.5 cm)
Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 20
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p. 42

‘With his interest in portraiture and, if there were no commissions on hand, my father would find a model for practice. One such portrait is of a young man who is holding a few coins, and his expression is of deep concern. This reflects the hardship that followed the First World War, mainly through mass unemployment … (the dole) was a very small weekly allowance to stave off abject poverty … I feel that my father, in painting this portrait, has, with some experience of deprivation himself, felt deeply for the man.’ mg Cat.20
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Price on request

Presentation: Framed
SN: 724
Signed l.l.: W.B.Gash
Oil on canvas, 24 by 18 ins (61 by 46 cm) Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 21
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p. 42

Gash’s touching and intimate depictions of his own children, mostly painted towards the end of his life, are amongst his most engaging works and foremost amongst them is this outstanding portrait of his daughter Margaret. The painting was executed in c. 1924 and shows Margaret Gash, then a schoolgirl, walking the vicar’s dog in the fields near Kettering. The painting’s quality rests not merely on the informal intimacy of the subject, but on the strength of composition with Margaret and the dog set in an open landscape against the dramatic backdrop of billowing clouds, perfectly capturing the sense of the windswept day. Cat.21
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£10,000

Presentation: Framed
SN: 726
Signed l.r.: W.B.Gash
Oil on canvas, 24 by 18 ins (61 by 45.5 cm)
Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 19
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p. 42

This charming snapshot of family life is typical of the domestic scenes painted in and around the Gash family home in Stamford Road, Kettering.
As with many such subjects, the model is Gash’s daughter Margaret, dating the work to c. 1924–25.
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£2,900

Presentation: Framed
SN: 727
Watercolour, 20 by 14 ins (51 by 35.5 cm)

Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 16
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p. 36

This is a watercolour version of what is probably Gash’s greatest Edwardian domestic scene (cat. 14).
Kenneth McConkey has kindly pointed out that this composition is very reminiscent of Clausen's The Window, 1912 (South African National Gallery, Capetown) - even down to the Orpen-esque convex mirror.
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£1,900

Presentation: Framed
SN: 750
Signed l.l.: W.B. Gash
Pastel, 12z by 9z ins (32 by 24 cm)

Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 39
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p.65
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£1,800

Presentation: Framed
SN: 753
Oil on canvas, 10 by 13z ins (25.5 by 34.5 cm)
Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 52
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p.75

The great shoe retailers Timpson’s held its main bases in Manchester and, largely due to the fact that its founder William Timpson came from nearby Rothwell, in Kettering. The Kettering factory was opened in 1922, two years before the present work was painted. Timpson’s became a major local employer producing some 20,000 pairs of shoes a year there; William Timpson’s funeral in Kettering in 1929 was marked by the closure of local businesses in the town in respect of his contribution.

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£900

Presentation: Framed
SN: 779
Signed l.r.: W.B.Gash
Pastel, 7 by 9f ins (18 by 23.5 cm)

Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 44
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p. 68
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£1,500

Presentation: Framed
SN: 780
Signed l.l.: W.B. Gash
Pastel, 8g by 11g ins (22 by 30 cm)

Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 42
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p.66
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£2,750

Presentation: Framed
SN: 788
Gouache, 24 by 19 ins (61 by 48 cm)
Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 1
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p.17

From his time at Lincoln, Gash proved to be a highly adept graphic artist.
Yet it was probably in Antwerp, in a country that was responsible for the most important and innovative contributions to Art Nouveau, that he developed the flamboyant and bold style seen in this group of designs.
Although limited records exist of his work as a commercial artist he was known to have executed posters and frontispieces for events in his home town in Kettering, as well as the emblem for the town’s art society.
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£1,800

Presentation: Framed
SN: 790
Soft pencil, 19 by 29 ins (48 by 73.5 cm)
Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 9
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p. 24

This is one of a number of works Gash entered for his Art Master’s Certificate.
‘Evidently during his early years in Kettering he realised that it would be an advantage to add to his qualifications ‘The Art Master’s Certificate’ and so he enlisted as an external student. There are a few examples of drawings that he presented for the examinations still in my possession, as for example, solution to a perspective problem, a black chalk portrait of a man, and studies of a foot, a hand, etc.’ Margaret Gash (mg) Cat.9
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£2,500

Presentation: Framed
SN: 817
Oil on board, 14 by 10z ins (35.5 by 26.5 cm)
Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 23
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p.44

One of two known preliminary studies for Gash’s portrait of his daughter in the fields (cat.21). It is possible that these sketches were executed on-the-spot and show the artist’s working process in respect of the painting’s development, the figure of the dog being added at a later stage in the composition process. Cat. 23
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£650

Presentation: Unframed
SN: 826
Signed l.r.: W.B. Gash
Watercolour, 6 by 9 ins (16.5 by 23 cm)

Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 49
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p. 72

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£2,500

Presentation: Framed
SN: 860
Oil on board, 8z by 5 ins (21.5 by 12.5 cm)

Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 32
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p.56
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£1,200

Presentation: Framed
SN: 4645
Pastel, 9f by 13z ins (23.5 by 34.5 cm)

Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 47
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p. 70
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 716
Signed l.r.: W.B.Gash
Oil on canvas, 33 by 33 ins (58 by 58 cm)
Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 13
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p. 31

The present work was painted in 1919 and shows Gash’s wife with their two young children Margaret and Norman. It probably ranks as Gash’s greatest and most touching group portrait.
‘My mother, who is placed in the centre behind a table, is looking down at an illustrated book which she appears to be showing to me. I am on the left, standing on a chair, which is hardly visible. Norman is on the right and looking straight out of the picture as though he has seen something of particular interest to him. On the table is a bunch of roses which I remember clearly, especially the little yellow one. These were given to us by Mr Essam, the music master at the Grammar School, and he also taught Norman the piano.’ mg Cat. 13
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 717
Signed l.r.: W.B.Gash
Oil on canvas, 30f by 25 ins (76.7 by 63.4 cm)
Exhibited: Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Nottingham, 1913 Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 14
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p. 32

The present picture is one of Gash’s first major works painted at his home at 145 Stamford Road, Kettering. It was probably completed in c. 1912 soon after moving there the year before. The sitters are Gash’s young wife and her sister.
Gash was clearly aware of the success of the composition himself, executing another version of the work in watercolour (cat. 16) and painting a variation of the same subject A piece of Music, in which the composition is reversed, the standing figure shown holding a violin looking over the shoulder of the seated figure who holds a piece of music. The painting proved one of the most widely admired works in the exhibition at the Castle Museum in Nottingham in 1913: ‘the beauty of it lies in the simplicity of the subject. The easy graceful pose of the figure and … the toning of the white dresses with the light streaming through the curtained window.’ The Nottingham Daily Express, 10th May, 1913 Cat. 14 Kenneth McConkey has kindly pointed out that this composition is very reminiscent of Clausen's The Window, 1912 (South African National Gallery, Capetown) - even down to the Orpen-esque convex mirror.
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 740
Signed and dated l.r.: W.B.Gash/96
Oil on canvas, 18 by 15 ins (46 by 38 cm)

Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 5
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p. 17
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 789
Ink and gouache, 17 by 25 ins (43 by 63.5 cm)

Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 2
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p. 17

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Presentation: Framed
SN: 793
Gouache with ink, 15 by 25z ins (38 by 65 cm)

Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 3
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p. 17
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Presentation: Unframed
SN: 798
Soft pencil, 17 by 11z ins (43 by 29 cm)

Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 10
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p.24
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 859
Oil on board, 10 by 7 ins (25.5 by 18 cm)
Provenance: The Artist's daughter
Exhibited: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, cat 33
Literature: Walter Bonner Gash, Unsung Edwardian Hero, p.57
Gash’s double portrait ‘The Inseparables’ was his last major work. It depicts Margaret Gash with her school friend Vera and was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1927. As with his comparable early painting of Margaret walking a dog (cat. 21), it is likely that Gash developed the work through spontaneous oil sketches, a fact that is confirmed by Margaret Gash’s own memories of the picture:
‘Vera is wearing the blue dress. My white dress was undoubtedly the one we had for “speech days” and the panama hat my school summer one with the hat band removed. I remember clearly how we went to a familiar field near the village of Warkton on a lovely summer morning to pose, and father made a quick oil sketch.’ mg

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Walter Bonner Gash 1869 - 1928

Walter Bonner Gash was born in Lincoln on February 2nd 1869 the youngest of four children. Early in his life, the family moved to Nottingham and it was there that he was brought up and educated.
Although art was not encouraged at his home, records show that his talents developed early. After leaving school, it seems that he worked on the design side in a lace factory. However, the urge to make his career in Art was so strong that he decided to return to the place of his birth and become a student at the Lincoln School of Art. The reward of various prizes and medals while he was there, is proof of his success: In due course he was advised to further his studies at the Ecole des Beaux Are in Antwerp and this he did in the years 1893 and 94.
Following his return to England and after a spell as an assistant tutor at the School of Art in Lincoln, he moved south to Kettering and that became his home for the rest of his life. He set up a studio there, and continued to develop his own painting while teaching some adult groups and in 1907 taking on the post of Art master at the Old Grammar School.
He married in 1911 Sarah Ann Miles and they had two children - Norman and Margaret. From then on he led a busy life teaching, accepting commissions, mostly for portraits, and exhibited widely in many cities over the country and in London at the Royal Academy of Arts. On a number of occasions his work was also shown at the Paris Salon.
Portraits and general figure subjects, as well as landscapes formed the main part of his output and he appeared to enjoy working as much in water-colours and pastels as he did in oils.

He died in Kettering in 1928 aged 59 years.