A select exhibition of important British paintings ranging from late Victorian social realism to Post-Impressionism, most of which are being offered on the market for the first time in decades.

While diverse in technique and subject matter, each painting variously addresses the complexities behind the development of Impressionism in Britain. Among the works included are one of Stanhope Forbes’s pioneering Newlyn scenes; two major social realist subjects by Henry Herbert La Thangue – here reunited for the first time since they formed part of the British showcase at the 1904 St Louis International Exhibition; an alla prima study of a young coster girl by Philip Wilson Steer, once owned by both George Moore and Lady Cunard; one of Harold Knight’s most ambitious works, a conversation piece featuring Laura Knight and Florence Munnings; Sir Alfred Munnings’ own portrait of his fragile young wife; Sir John Lavery’s portrait of the vivacious and glamorous Diana Dickinson; and Dod Procter’s exceptionally sensual study of a young Newlyn woman.

Also featured is a selection of Scottish Colourist paintings, including a Cézannesque still life by Leslie Hunter, two early Parisian subjects by John Duncan Fergusson and a dynamic cityscape by John MacLaughlan Milne.

The exhibition is supported by a fully illustrated catalogue that includes essays on the works by La Thangue and Lavery written by Kenneth McConkey, one of the foremost scholars on late Victorian and Edwardian painting and Emeritus Professor of Art History, University of Northumbria at Newcastle.