16th Sep, 2026 12:00
London | Ancient & Modern
8
HENRY CHARLES BREWER (BRITISH 1866-1950)
PATERNOSTER SQUARE FOLLOWING A BOMBING RAID
watercolour, gouache and pencil on paper
36 x 55cm (58 x 76cm framed)
Provenance
Sale, Christie's South Kensington, The Henry Brewer Studio Sale, 1987
Sale, Roseberys, London, 11 October 2005, lot 667
The present watercolour belongs to the most compelling group of Charles Brewer's London subjects: the bombed City. Beyond a foreground of rubble and shattered timbers, a row of gutted façades stands open to the sky, while cranes rise above the ruins and the dome of St Paul's floats behind in a wash of pale gold. Brewer had spent a lifetime painting dawn and sunset over cathedral towers, and he brought exactly the same sensibility to a landscape of catastrophe; the cold recognition of a city in ruins.
He came to the subject by inheritance as much as inclination, being the son of the architectural draughtsman Henry William Brewer (1836–1903). Trained at Westminster School of Art under Fred Brown, he was elected to the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours in 1911, the year of his second solo exhibition at the Fine Art Society, and exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Walker Art Gallery, in Australia and New Zealand, and at the Venice Biennale in 1932. His travels furnished views of Tangier, Spain, Belgium and Gibraltar, but London remained his constant subject.
PATERNOSTER SQUARE FOLLOWING A BOMBING RAID
watercolour, gouache and pencil on paper
36 x 55cm (58 x 76cm framed)
Provenance
Sale, Christie's South Kensington, The Henry Brewer Studio Sale, 1987
Sale, Roseberys, London, 11 October 2005, lot 667
The present watercolour belongs to the most compelling group of Charles Brewer's London subjects: the bombed City. Beyond a foreground of rubble and shattered timbers, a row of gutted façades stands open to the sky, while cranes rise above the ruins and the dome of St Paul's floats behind in a wash of pale gold. Brewer had spent a lifetime painting dawn and sunset over cathedral towers, and he brought exactly the same sensibility to a landscape of catastrophe; the cold recognition of a city in ruins.
He came to the subject by inheritance as much as inclination, being the son of the architectural draughtsman Henry William Brewer (1836–1903). Trained at Westminster School of Art under Fred Brown, he was elected to the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours in 1911, the year of his second solo exhibition at the Fine Art Society, and exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Walker Art Gallery, in Australia and New Zealand, and at the Venice Biennale in 1932. His travels furnished views of Tangier, Spain, Belgium and Gibraltar, but London remained his constant subject.
Auction: London | Ancient & Modern, 16th Sep, 2026
London is a city which has had a greater impact on culture around the world than almost any other, and it has never been more important than now to shine a light on its remarkable citizens and history. From Magna Carta to the television London has, again and again, been the source from which progress has radiated. The present sale takes us from a medieval spur found under Cannon Street station, to a medal minted to commemorate the Millennium, from prints and paintings, to clocks and pistols. This sale is a sensational opportunity to acquire a small piece of this incomparable place. Olympia is a proudly London-based auction house and we are thrilled to be offering the inaugural instalment of this sale.
Viewing
PUBLIC EXHIBITION:
Sunday 13th September: 12pm to 4pm
Monday 14th September: 10am to 8.00pm (Drinks from 5pm)
Tuesday 15th September: 10am to 5pm
