Bidspirit auction | MUNNINGS ALFRED: (1878-1959)

MUNNINGS ALFRED: (1878-1959) - MUNNINGS ALFRED: (1878-1959) English painter, a member of the Newlyn School from 1912-14, and regarded as one of the finest painters of horses. A good A.L.S., Alfred Munnings , four pages, 8vo, Dedham, Essex, 30th May 1946, to Camp. Munnings states that he was really pleased to see his correspondent´s work ( ´although I have little time to undo such parcels´ ) and continues to explain ´I got it open in the studio & looked carefully through them & thought that you had shown courage in one or two ´ , further offering his advice, ´You need to think of tone . Remember that if you could gain the secret of how to show what is there, you´d be a great artist. You must have a retentive memory to carry out that large picture. You were full of what you had seen one winter afternoon & tried to carry it in mind & express it. Now - supposing you had had a real careful study of that Poplar (I presume it is a Poplar) in the middle of your design - then what a joy to do the thing from it, knowing exactly what to do! You need some worn brushes to do the misty effect of the twigs against the sky [at this point in the letter Munnings has added a couple of small illustrations, one of the head of a paint brush] You must follow the growth outwards of a tree. It is easy to see it when you really look for it´ . The letter continues with a reference to an unidentified critic, ´He would destroy all tradition & writes Bunkum . Charles Dickens never read a review because if he had he would never have done anything´ , and Munnings offers further advice to his correspondent, ´Work at nature & make endless studies. Red skies are no good. Easy to do. You paint an Elm against the sky. I´ll lay you 100 to 1 you can´t do it. Which reminds me - are the Elms around dying from this disease? Many in Suffolk are dead´ . Munnings concludes by writing ´Please do not mind me writing to you like this but I want to see a Suffolk man come right out´ . Some light overall foxing, G