Ended Lot #3 FRANCIS GEORGE GORDON Original Ink Watercolor Painting of Bedouin Soldier

F.J. Gordon (Francis George Gordon) original ink wash watercolor painting of a bedouin soldier. Ink on illustration board. Signed in pencil lower left recto. Dated Oct. 1 on bottom recto. Circa 1910. Possibly a study for a larger painting.
Unframed. Measures 15" x 20"
Condition: some light surface wear and edge wear consistent with age. No major damage.
Bio:
Francis George Gordon (1873-1931) was born in Bedford, England. The Frasers of Huntingdonshire, of Scottish origin and emerging initially from the town of Bedford in the latter part of the nineteenth century, were a family of artists, known largely for their watercolour paintings, the predominant subject matter of which was the rural landscape of The Fens. Two of the family made illustrations for books and magazines.

Six of the group were the sons of an army surgeon, Major Robert Winchester Fraser (1819–1892) and his wife Mary Ann Anderson (1820–1898), who married in 1842 and produced a total of nine children. There was one son, Michie, who worked for the Consular Service and remained a bachelor. One of his sisters, Catherine, was his housekeeper. There is a suggestion that she and the other sister Margaret may also have painted.

The younger son, Francis Gordon Fraser (1879–1931) “was probably the most prolific, yet least recorded member of the famous Huntingdonshire family of landscape painters” (Jeremy Wood, Hidden Talents). “The quality of his work is variable and this has affected its value.” Perhaps realizing that he was in danger of flooding the market single-handedly, he signed his work in a variety of ways. Besides F.G. Fraser, he is known to have also used F. Gordon, Alex Gordon and quite possibly several other names.

His huge output was driven by penury and it would seem that many of his paintings were hurriedly completed, though there are a few in circulation of a higher standard and with greater attention to detail. It is not known how much time he spent in or around The Fens region where his brother and uncles lived. His pictures of the area may possibly have been depicted from memory, imagination or his recollection of his father’s work, given that he mostly lived in south-west London. Two of his pictures were shown at the Devon and Exeter Annual Exhibition in 1907. He is a listed artist known for landscapes and military portraits. Name variants: FG Fraser, Alex Gordon, F Gordon

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