Signed l.r.: Audrey Weber

Watercolour, 18.5 by 27 cm (7 ¼ by 10 ¾ ins)

Literature: S.P.S.Mais, Hills of the South, Southern Railway Company, 1939 (illustrated as a colour plate)

Weber worked for Southern Railways in the 1930s, with countryside walks being her signature subject matter. She designed a series of celebrated posters for the company on the subject of rambles in the mid-1930s, selling the idea of walking in the south and west of England and throughout the seasons of the year (see fig.1). The present work is the original artwork for an illustration from the book Hills of the South, published by Southern Railways in 1939 as a guidebook for Sussex and Surrey and for the local walks accessible to the train passenger. The present work shows Conyhurst Hill in Surrey, Weber’s electric colours being painted with the vibrant tones of the printed illustration in mind.