An appeal for information about Sydney J. Bunney, 1877-1928.

We have been contacted by Christopher Sidwell who is trying to find photographs of his late great, great uncle the Coventry artist Sydney John Bunney and would appreciate any help we can offer.

We published an article by Stewart Fergusson entitled A Life in the Day of Coventry Artist which was about Bunney in our 2022 newsletter and you can see here.

What we know is that S. J. Bunney was born in July 1877 in Coventry, the third child of George Bunney, a ribbon warehouseman, and his wife, Eliza. Bunney worked as an accountant and later became a cashier at the Auto Machinery Company Limited in Coventry but his passion was art. In 1892, he was a student at Coventry School of Art and secretary to the school’s sketch club between 1907 and 1910, he remained a member of the club until 1916. In 1899, he was a student at South Kensington Art School. He lived at 154 Albany Road, Earlsdon. He died on 24th April 1928, aged 50 years, and is buried in London Road Cemetery, Coventry.

Bunney’s work as an artist matured under the influence of William Milnes, who became the headmaster at Coventry School of Art in 1906. Milnes encouraged students to follow the example of Turner by taking quick sketches under differing conditions. This, according to Milnes, would give the artist a greater understanding of nature in its various moods. Many of Coventry’s medieval buildings had survived up to the early 20th century, and Milnes pointed out that many of the buildings were suitable for studies on the effect of light. Several students took up this idea, including Bunney who became a prolific painter of Coventry scenes. His work records the city as a market town, the streets lined with red-brick and half-timbered shops and houses. Most of these pieces are small and intimate works of art.

He had great difficulty in having his work shown at any of the big exhibitions, such as those at the Royal Academy, and interest in his work largely waned before he was rediscovered in the late 20th century. His corpus of work of over 500 paintings and drawings is held by the Herbert Art Gallery and covers Coventry’s landmark historical buildings, detailed architectural features of doorways, gates etc, street scenes, inns and taverns, early industrial buildings and open spaces in and around Coventry. They have become an important source for architects and historians as accurate records of Coventry in the first three decades of the twentieth century.

If anyone has any information at all please email me at: ezuvo@btinternet.com