Pissarro, Renoir, Constable and Monet. Their names read like a Who’s Who entry of 19th century creative luminaries. Instantly recognisable, their paintings adorn the walls of the greatest galleries in the world. Occasionally, their work becomes available on the open market, and when they do, they tend to break all the records. In July 2012 John Constable’s The Lock became one of the most expensive British paintings ever sold when it fetched £22.4m at Christie’s. Monet’s Haystack reached $81.4m in 2016 and in 2014 a Pissarro sold for £19.9m at Sotheby’s. What these artists all had in common – for they were not all Impressionists – was that they all painted en plein air: the art of painting outdoors.
Pioneered by Constable, the en plein air movement revolutionised landscape painting and brought a fresh new perspective to the stuffy art world. Of course, we can’t all afford to bid for a Constable or a Renoir, but mercifully there’s a new cohort of young, Tatler-esque en plein air artists making waves – sometimes quite literally – and their paintings are perfect for aspiring and seasoned collectors alike. Here, Tatler takes a look at the en plein air artists everyone is talking about.
Daisy Sims-Hilditch
London-based artist Daisy has creativity flowing in her veins. Not only was her great grandfather the Royal Academician HWB Davis, but her mother is leading interior designer Emma Sims-Hilditch and her father founded interiors brand Neptune. Daisy trained in sight-size portraiture at the Charles Cecil studios in Florence, and although she is perfectly at home painting society portraits, she is most comfortable out in the wild en plein air. Her landscapes draw upon strong classical influences, and she has a particular fondness for painting contre jour or ‘against the sun’. This method is most visible in Daisy’s paintings of Venice, where the water sparkles and contrasts with the pink and ochre hues of the surrounding palazzos. Daisy’s talent has clearly been recognised by the great and the good of the art world – her paintings hang in the collections of leading art specialists Philip Mould and Rhod McEwan – so if you’re looking for an investment artwork, Daisy’s pieces are certainly ones to watch. This year Daisy won the Gordon Hulson memorial Prize at the Royal Society of British artists and in 2019 she had a sellout solo exhibition.
Contact Daisy via daisysimshilditch.com for more information
