Preview – The Gallery Guide – April-May 2007

Practical Art History or
Confessions of a Fine Art Appraiser
Chapter 9. The Case of Looe Pool.
Several weeks ago I received a call from a gentleman who
wanted his collection of paintings appraised for insurance
purposes.
After reviewing the collection I surmised that three pieces,
an exquisite oil on canvas and two well-executed watercolours,
all by the same hand, exhibited sufficient artistic merit to
warrant a written appraisal. My client indicated he was a second
generation relative of the artist and that he had inherited the
two watercolours some years ago. The oil painting, he had
purchased at auction, some 25 years earlier.
The paintings were signed by S.J. Lamorna Birch and in
some cases dated. The oil had a gallery label on the reverse,
which included the title of Looe Pool, Helstrom. The larger of the
two watercolours was inscribed on the back “Harvest Time”,
while the smaller watercolour appeared to be a hand-painted,
personalized, Christmas card sent to “Charlie” in 1940. I was
astounded to discover that the illustrious relative of my client
was the renowned British painter, Samuel Lamorna Birch R.A.
(1869-1955).
Samuel John Birch was born in Egremont, Cheshire. Birch
first visited West Cornwall (England) in the late 1880s and
settled in the Lamorna Valley in 1892. He adopted the epithet
Lamorna in 1895 to distinguish himself from fellow artist
Lionel Birch (an idea suggested by Stanhope Forbes).
He is regarded as the father figure of the later group of
‘Newlyn’ artists, which included Laura and Harold Knight (who
he met in 1907), Alfred Munnings, Frank Gascoigne Heath,
Stanley Gardiner and Charles and Ella Naper, forming a second
artists colony in the Lamorna Valley, often referred to as the
Lamorna group. Birch was elected as an Associate of the Royal
BY JIM FINLAY
JAMES FINLAY
FINE ART WEALTH MANAGEMENT
jim_finlay@telus.net
S.J. Lamorna Birch, Looe Pool
S.J. Lamorna Birch, Harvest Time
S.J. Lamorna Birch, Lamorna Cove looking
towards Carn Dhu
Academy (A.R.A.) in 1924 and was made a full Royal Academician (R.A.) eight years later.
The oil titled Looe Pool, Helstrom was probably purchased from the S.J. Lamorna Birch
Memorial Exhibition, Fine Art Society, London, October 1955. The title refers to the largest
natural freshwater lake in Cornwall. The pool was originally the estuary of the River Cober which
flows through the former port of Helston. The Pool is reputed to be the lake in which Sir Bedivere
cast King Arthur’s sword, Excalibur. Local superstition also warns that the Pool claims a victim
every seven years.
The watercolour titled Harvest Time is possibly a view in the Cotswolds and probably dates
from the 1920s, painted during one of Birch’s visits to his friend and etcher Frederick Griggs at
Campden, Gloucestershire. The small watercolour Christmas card depicts a view from the
Lamorna harbour wall (Lamorna Cove) looking towards the rocks at Carn Dhu (black rock-pile).
On completing the appraisal, I was informed by my client that other relatives also owned
works by their illustrious ancestor. These included drawings, watercolours and small oils, mainly
images in and around Lamorna Cove, Cornwall.
NEXT ISSUE: THE CASE OF CORNELIS THE COPYIST
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