Lot #28: Bill Corins (20th Century) Atmospheric Landscape in Watercolour

Atmospheric Landscape in Watercolour This refined watercolour by Bill Corins exemplifies the quiet sophistication and tonal sensitivity that defined mid-20th-century landscape painting. Working primarily in watercolour, Corins developed a restrained, atmospheric approach rooted in the post-Impressionist traditions of British and North American plein-air practice. Executed with controlled washes and subtle gradations of hue, the composition emphasizes mood and light over overt narrative. Muted blues, greens, and greys dissolve into one another, evoking mist, distance, and the transient qualities of the natural world. The brushwork is economical yet confident, allowing form to emerge softly without rigid definition—a hallmark of Corins’s tonalist realism. Active during the interwar and immediate post-war period, Corins is believed to have studied under practitioners of the English plein-air school in the late 1920s. His work reflects that lineage: disciplined palette, compositional balance, and a deliberate avoidance of excess detail in favor of atmosphere and composure. His watercolours were exhibited in regional galleries throughout the United Kingdom and, on occasion, in North American salons focused on contemporary watercolour practice. Although Corins did not achieve the international fame of some of his contemporaries, his work has long appealed to discerning collectors who value subtlety, craftsmanship, and mood-driven landscapes. Today, his paintings are recognized as representative examples of the mid-century revival of watercolour as a serious and expressive artistic medium—bridging romantic landscape traditions with the restrained modernism of the post-war era. This piece is offered as an authentic example of Corins’s mature style and is well suited to collectors of 20th-century watercolour, British-influenced landscape painting, or thoughtfully composed works emphasizing light, atmosphere, and quiet elegance. Dimensions: 43”W-31”H Pickup category timeslot {A}