CHARLES PEARS (1873-1958) RAMSGATE. 1926. 40x49 inches, 101 1/2x124 1/2 cm. Waterlow & Sons, London. Condition B+: repaired tears, creases, restoration and overpainting in margins; vertical and horizontal folds. Pears is best known as a maritime painter, working during both World War I and II as an official naval artist. Many of the posters he designed for the different British Railway companies (LMS, LNER, SR and GWR) reflect his love of ships and the sea. However, an equal number of his graphic works celebrate young women frolicking in the surf. Here, an intrepid explorer holds up a crab she has just found amid the waves at this British resort.
