“Baldock High St” by William Whitehead Ratcliffe – High St, Baldock, Herts, UK
Posted by: bill&ben
N 51° 59.251 W 000° 11.194
30U E 693178 N 5763387
A view of Baldock High St painted outside 39 High St, looking South East.
Waymark Code: WMMNKD
Location: Eastern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/15/2014
Views: 2
William Whitehead Ratcliffe was born in 1870 in Clenchwarton in Norfolk. He was educated in Manchester and attended classes at the Manchester School of Art. By 1901 he was working for the Wallpaper Manufacturers combine. His work took him to London, where he was exposed to the work of the Garden City movement. In 1906 he moved to Letchworth.
In Letchworth he joined a small group of artists, including Harold Gilman, the founder of the Camden Town Group. Ratcliffe, under Gilman’s influence, turned his back on commercial art and moved into fine art. For further biographical detail see the excellent article at the Tate
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The buildings to the left of the painting still exist, if slightly modified. The trees have been re-planted, but the location of the artist is easily found, outside 39 High St. The painting, oil on canvas, is in the Letchworth Museum and Art Gallery collection.