A rare landscape by a leading British artist is coming home after Watford Museum secured grants to buy it.

The Bluebell Wood - Oxhey by Beatrice Parsons shows Oxhey Park in early spring with the River Colne in the background.

Parsons (1870-1955) was an internationally-renowned British garden painter whose work was bought by members of the Royal family.

Elected Mayor of Watford Peter Taylor said: “The painting is a delightful view of this area, which is much enjoyed but is little represented in art or in images within our photographic collection.

 

The Bluebell Wood, Oxhey, by Beatrice Parsons

The Bluebell Wood, Oxhey, by Beatrice Parsons

 

"The purchase of this painting is of special importance in better representing Watford and Hertfordshire’s topography, and also providing a connection for those of us who enjoy the park and area today, including the Friends of Oxhey Park and Oxhey Village Environment Group."

The Bluebell Wood is the first painting of Oxhey Park owned by the museum, highlighting the work of Parsons, who lived at 63 Kingsfield Road, Oxhey.

The museum bought the painting thanks to £1,350 from the Hertfordshire Heritage Fund and £400 from the Friends of Watford Museum.

Born in Peckham, South London, in 1870, Parsons attended Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls and studied at King's College London before attending the Royal Academy Schools, where she won three prizes.

 

Mayor Peter Taylor with Museum Curator Sarah Priestley and representatives from Friends of Watford Musuem and Hertfordshire Heritage Fund

Mayor Peter Taylor with Museum Curator Sarah Priestley and representatives from Friends of Watford Musuem and Hertfordshire Heritage Fund

 

Best known for her garden paintings, she occasionally produced religious paintings, with one, Annunciation, auctioned for $78,000 (£38,812 at the time) in New York.

Queen Mary bought more than 30 of her works, with others bought by the Duchess of Westminster and the Duchess of Harewood.

Parsons lived in Hampstead after 1901, but in 1907 moved to Oxhey, where she lived with her three sisters and had a studio until her death on February 17, 1955.

When she died, the Times newspaper wrote: "As a painter of gardens in watercolour, Beatrice Parsons was probably unrivalled. Her special gift was perhaps her crisp and articulate touch in an inlay of colour which clearly defined the individual flowers without forcing them out of their context in the mass."

Her brother Karl Parsons, a stained-glass artist, commemorated the family in a stained-glass window in St Matthew's Church, Oxhey.

Visit watfordmuseum.org.uk for information.