Collector's Notes, Featured Works, Gallery Life
Bordeaux & Beyond: Art of Travel, Vineyards and Sunlit Scenes
There’s a reason the South of France has drawn travellers and painters for generations. From sleepy village squares to bright harbours and the glittering coast, it’s a place where atmosphere lingers as much as the light itself. Our recent time in Bordeaux reminded us of this — rolling vineyards, slow evenings, and that unmistakable warmth — and it sent us back to the French works in our collection that capture the same feeling. Here are some of our favourites from our French collection
Côte d’Azur Coastal Scene — 20th-Century Post-Impressionist Oil
Blue sea, golden cliffs, and the shimmer of southern light — this painting distils the Côte d’Azur into colour and motion. You can almost feel the heat rising from the rocks and the salt in the air.
View painting
Villages and Vineyards
Tucked into the foothills of the Pyrenees, St Jean Pied de Port offers the kind of soft, sun-worn streets that seem unchanged by time. Much like Bordeaux itself, the Basque town carries a rhythm of life that painters love to catch: pastel walls, narrow streets, the quiet pulse of everyday beauty.
Closer to the coast, Nice has always been a place where artists went in search of light. This painting shows it not in its glamour but in its calm — a sleepy street scene, warm with afternoon sun.
Sleepy Street Scene, Nice — Signed French Oil on Canvas
A quiet street under the Mediterranean sun, painted in soft ochres and pinks. This piece captures the unhurried charm of Nice — sunlight, shutters, and the stillness of an afternoon siesta.
View painting
Harbours and Horizons
Where there’s sea, there’s movement. Honfleur Harbour may be further north, but its glowing colours and summer haze echo the same Mediterranean ease.
Further south, the coast opens into something altogether brighter. Côte d’Azur Blue Sea shows why this stretch has inspired so many artists — sea and sky playing against each other in deep, theatrical tones.
And then there’s St Tropez Harbour: once a quiet fishing village, now a name synonymous with French Riviera style. Here the boats sit still, but the brushwork gives them a hum of life.
Honfleur Harbour with Boats — Signed French Impressionist Oil
Honfleur’s harbour has long been a muse for French painters, and this work captures its warmth perfectly — calm water, reflections of colour, and a sky just beginning to fade. It feels both timeless and alive.
Squares and Scenes
French art has always found beauty in the everyday. Village Square with Fountain captures the pause of afternoon — figures gathered, light filtering, a moment held in oil.
St Tropez Harbour — Signed French Impressionist Oil
Soft brushwork and sleepy boats bring St Tropez to life at its most peaceful. There’s no glamour here, just the quiet rhythm of the port — sunlight, water, and the sense of time standing still.
View painting
Bringing Travel Home
Travel changes how we see light, colour, and place. Paintings do the same. A coastal canvas can bring the Riviera’s glow into a sitting room. A village square scene can warm a dining room. A harbour can add movement to an office wall.
Bordeaux may have been our starting point, but France as a whole has a way of staying with you. Through these works, you can carry a little of it home.
Explore more of our beautiful French pieces here.
