Object Description
JOHN COLE
(1903-1975)
A Shop Front in Moor Street, Cambridge Circus
Signed l.r.; signed, inscribed with title and the artist’s address on a label on the reverse
Oil on panel
30 by 40 cm., 12 by 15 ¾ in.
(frame size 39 by 49 cm., 15 ½ by 19 ¼ in.)
Provenance:
Sold by the artist at the Royal Academy in 1945.
Exhibited:
London, Royal Academy, 1945, no.636;
Portsmouth Museum & Art Gallery, The Cole Family, Painters of the English Landscape, 1838-1975, 1988 no.171.
Literature:
T J Barringer, The Cole Family: Painters of the English Landscape 1838-1975, Portsmouth City Museums 1988, pl.180 (no.171)
The Georgian shop front of 13 Moor Street, Soho is in the area known as the Moor Street Triangle, bounded by Old Compton Street, Charing Cross Road and Moor Street itself. No.13 is believed to have been built by William Bignell in 1738 and is one of the few surviving original houses n the street being noteworthy for its elegant early nineteenth century shop front. The ground floor of no.13 now houses a fast food shop.
John Cole was the son of Rex Vicat Cole. He is noted for his unsentimental depictions of London shop fronts, often quaint and old fashioned. He exhibited widely, including at the Royal Academy and New English Art Club. He held official positions with a number of artistic bodies, such as the Campden Hill Club and the St James’ Art Society. Pictures by him are in many public collections.