Item of The Week - Watercolour 'Bribery' by P. Attersoll

There’s nothing like hearing stories of yesteryear from older relatives to make you recall times gone by and to give you a warm feeling a nostalgia. And that’s exactly how this painting made us feel when we set eyes on it. Our Item of the week is this humorous watercolour illustration entitled ‘Bribery’

This early 20^th Century watercolour was painted by an untraceable but skilled Artist, 'P. Attersoll'. What this artist does, is to convey a wonderful story in this single image depicting a classic scenario between a child & The Law. It appears that this young lad is trespassing on private property & has been caught out by a Policeman who towers over him in a rather dominant stance. And rather than surrender, the boy is trying to bribe him with an apple. We certainly do wonder though if this apple is stolen, and this is the reason why the little boy has ended up in this predicament in the first place!

Signed and dated from 1909, this illustration has a cheeky charm about it, and whilst the classic depiction of the ‘local Bobby’ is striking with his Royal Blue uniform, our eye is drawn to the young boy who innocently thinks the Policeman will accept his bribe, although he may not be as innocent as he conveys, as he has rather cunningly kept one apple behind his back! We suspect he was return home to his parents by his ear and received a stern telling off, as was quite common practice back in the day, surely he'd be too young to prosecute as the sign suggests!

This painting is displayed in an original frame, and as it was an illustration there are small areas 'whitened out' and pencil lines may be seen. This can be bought in a pair at a reduced rate, as the seller has another painting of a similar nature by the same artist (view this painting), which is equally as charming.

This painting is being sold by Heatons for £185

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