A WATERCOLOUR by one of Queen Victoria?s favourite artists and a 150-year-old oil painting of a landmark near Peter Tavy are among the many highlights in Elford Fine Art?s major Christmas Exhibition in Tavistock this weekend. The show, at The Bedford Hotel tomorrow (Friday), Saturday and Sunday, features an outstanding selection of work by distinguished artists from the mid-19th century to the present day. Entitled ?The Crofter?s Family? and dated 1868, the watercolour by John Frederick Tayler (1802 to 1889) shows a young brother and sister, accompanied by their faithful dog, tending a small herd of goats in a Highland landscape. It is a typical subject for Tayler, who often stayed with friends and patrons in Scotland. Tayler was President of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours and also exhibited at The Royal Academy. Queen Victoria bought a number of his paintings, which are now in the Royal Collection, and there are examples of his work in the Victoria and Albert and British Museums. Elford Fine Art?s Christmas Exhibition also includes many South West scenes by some of the region?s most popular and collectable painters, and there are views of coast and countryside, villages, harbours, rivers and moors. Harford Bridge, near Peter Tavy is the subject of an oil on canvas, painted by T. Johnson and dated 1851. The picture shows an angler fishing the River Tavy. A passer-by looks down from the bridge in a scene which has hardly changed over the years. Father and son William Widgery (1826 to 1893) and Frederick John Widgery (1861 to 1942) are represented with several works, both in oils and watercolours. Views include Brentor, Sheepstor, Lydford Moors and the River Lyd. For more details and a colour catalogue call 01822 612123 or visit http://www.elfordfineart.co.uk">www.elfordfineart.co.uk
