The English Village Kings Somborne, River Ford Hampshire – Oil Painting

Kings Somborne by Deidre Henty-Creer (British 1918-2012) signed lower corner oil painting on board, unframed Medium sized impressionist oil painting, measuring W24 x H19.5 inches. Exquisite detailed oil painting of a busy English country village. Each part of this delightful painting has it’s own story to tell, from what the local shop has in the window, to the children playing in the stream. A very traditional country look with thatched cottages, and fox gloves in bloom. The artist ‘Deidre Henty-Creer’ has signed the lower right corner, and there are two pieces of paper stuck to the back of the painting with her return address and the location of the village. Born in 1918, in Sydney, Australia, Henty-Creer spent most of her working life in Britain. Her childhood was spent first living on a destroyer – which had been turned into a training ship by her father – and travelling to Java, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Fiji before settling in North Devon in the early 1930s. Her family moved to London in the late 30’s where they became part of a circle which included Alexander Korda, Peter Ustinov, whose mother was Nadia Benois, the ‘celebrated painter Though largely self taught Deirdre was not the only Henty-Creer to embark on a career in the visual arts. Her brother, Henty, trained as a cinematographer and worked for Korda before dying in 1943 as Commander of a midget submarine which was engaging with the Tirpitz.. After the War Deirdre became a Committee Member of AFAS – the Armed Forces Art Society – some of her best work was was produced during and, probably, shortly after the War. Buckman reports that Henty-Creer was accredited to the Ministry of Information as an artist, between 1940 and ’45. Condition report: Overall pleasing condition, there are a few age related scuffs and the lower left corner is worn (see images.)