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The Basin, and Upper Severn Bridge, Stourport

Osmond Hick Bissell

1942

watercolor

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Social Realism Early Modern

Dominant colour

The Basin, and Upper Severn Bridge, Stourport is a 1942 watercolor by Osmond Hick Bissell, a Social Realism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Osmond Hick Bissell
When & what style?: 1942 · Social Realism
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This sketch shows a quiet canal scene with a narrowboat tied up near a stone lock. The boat’s rope is stretched tight across the water, and a person stands on the bank, maybe adjusting something. Behind them, a row of simple houses with chimneys and small gardens lines the hillside. The colors are soft—dull browns, greens, and a bit of blue in the sky. The lock looks old and weathered, with water spilling slowly through it. The artist used loose, sketchy lines to capture the light and mood, not every tiny detail. Want to see more by this artist? Check out Bissell, Osmond Hick.

The story of this work

Overview

The watercolour *The Basin, and Upper Severn Bridge, Stourport* by Osmond Hick Bissell was created in 1942 as part of the *Recording Britain* project, a wartime initiative to document Britain’s landscape and cultural heritage. Commissioned by the Committee for the Employment of Artists in Wartime, the work reflects a broader effort to preserve scenes of national identity amid fears of wartime destruction and rapid modernization. The painting depicts a specific location in Stourport, capturing the local topography and built environment during the early 1940s. It is one of over 1,500 works…

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Artist

Osmond Hick Bissell

Osmond Hick Bissell painted quiet English canals in watercolour in 1942. He shows Wolverley Court Bridge, Caldwall Bridge near Kidderminster, Mill Street Lock, and the basin at Stourport—all calm, detailed views of…

See the richer artist page