Robert Graham Dryden Alexander (English, 1875-1945) watercolor seascape with a singular sailboat listing under shifting skies. Titled Slanting Sails. Unsigned; acquired from the artist's family. Provenance and gallery label on reverse. Artwork in custom gold wood frame measures 18.25” x 19.25". Artwork and frame in very good condition.
Robert Graham Dryden Alexander (1875–1945) was a British painter born in Brentwood, Essex, to strict Presbyterian parents who reluctantly permitted him a brief period of artistic study before directing him into the family’s City business. His training included study at the British Museum and the Hornsey School of Art, and later at the Slade School of Fine Art—where his daughter, Jean Alexander (1911–1994), would also study.
Alexander’s work is largely devoted to Essex landscapes, reflecting his life in Brentwood and frequent stays at Walton-on-the-Naze. He was closely associated with Sir George Clausen and Mark Fisher, and exhibited regularly at both the New English Art Club and the Royal Academy. In 1922, he shared an exhibition with A. S. Hartrick at the Grosvenor Gallery.
His works are held in major public collections, including the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum, and the Ashmolean. A retrospective of his work was presented at the Anthony Fortescue Galleries in London in 1975.
