Jeffrey Harpham “A Meeting at Campo Maria Formosa” 2003 Venice Watercolor

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Description

An evocative original watercolor and charcoal-pencil cityscape by British artist Jeffrey Harpham (b. 1943), depicting a gathering of figures in … Read more An evocative original watercolor and charcoal-pencil cityscape by British artist Jeffrey Harpham (b. 1943), depicting a gathering of figures in a Venetian campo framed by the timeworn façades of the surrounding palazzi.

Titled “A Meeting at Campo Maria Formosa,” the composition captures the distinctive atmosphere of Venice through Harpham’s fluid, architectural draftsmanship and restrained palette of blue, gray, cream, ochre, and terracotta. Loosely rendered figures animate the foreground, while layered washes and expressive pencil lines give the historic buildings depth and character.

The work is inscribed “VENICE” at lower left and signed and dated “J. Harpham ’03” at lower right. It is currently presented beneath glass with a wide neutral mat in an antiqued bronze and gold-tone frame.

A period provenance label remains affixed to the reverse. It records that the watercolor and charcoal-pencil work was purchased from Priory Gallery in Broadway, England, during a September 2004 visit to the Cotswolds. The documented original purchase price was $1,470. The label also identifies the composition by title and records Jeffrey Harpham’s association with the Royal Society of Marine Artists.

The estate from which the artwork was acquired documented it as:

“Jeffrey Harpham ‘A Meeting at Campo Maria Formosa,’ Venice, Italy, 2003, original watercolor and pencil, matted and framed.”

The documented title is retained here as written, although the Venetian square is more commonly known as Campo Santa Maria Formosa.

A sophisticated original work with strong architectural presence and unusually detailed ownership provenance—particularly well suited to a traditional, European-inspired, collected, or transitional interior. See less