Artwork
Park Farm, West Malvern
Park Farm, West Malvern is a watercolor work on paper by Raymond Teague Cowern. It dates from 1940 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The watercolour, executed in 1940, records the farmstead of Park Farm in West Malvern.
About this work
Overview
The watercolour, executed in 1940, records the farmstead of Park Farm in West Malvern. Rendered for the Recording Britain scheme, the image captures a rural composition of a central house with chimney, a smaller outbuilding, a foreground field populated by livestock, and a lightly clouded sky, framed by distant trees.
Subject & Meaning
The work presents a typical English agricultural scene, emphasizing the continuity of countryside life amid the uncertainties of wartime. By documenting the farm’s architecture and surrounding landscape, the image underscores concerns about the possible loss of rural heritage due to wartime damage, urban growth, and changes in farming practices.
Technique & Style
Executed in transparent watercolour, the artist employs a varied palette to differentiate the textures of brick, thatch, pasture and sky. Fine brushwork delineates structural details, while broader washes suggest atmospheric light. The composition balances precise observation with a gentle, almost lyrical handling of colour and form.
History & Provenance
Commissioned under the Recording Britain project, which was funded by the Pilgrim Trust and administered by Sir Kenneth Clark, the piece is one of roughly 1,500 works produced by 97 artists between 1940 and 1943. The series aimed to preserve visual records of places deemed vulnerable during the early years of the Second World War.
Artist & collection
Artist
Raymond Teague Cowern painted quiet watercolors of mid-century Worcestershire life during the Second World War.
Hambledon
View of a water-mill near Ridware
Vejen gennem Côte-Saint-André ved Grenoble
Turville Village
A thatched cottage and two figures
A cottage and water-mill at Bignor
A barn.
Cottages at East Bergholt
A cottage with a red-tiled roof, by a wood
Backs of houses
Old Mill, Clynne Valley, Gower, Glamorganshire
Cavendish