Nestor Cambier (1879-1957) - Le moulin à vent

Oil on panel depicting a windmill, signed

Nestor Cambier, born in Couillet (Charleroi) on August 18, 1879, and died in Uccle (Brussels) on August 3, 1957, was a Belgian painter and draughtsman whose portraits were favorably compared with those of John Singer Sargent, but who is almost forgotten today. He also painted landscapes, city views and interiors, still lifes, murals, frescoes and stained glass, as well as numerous pastel drawings.

Biography
Childhood and training
Nestor Alfred Ghislain Cambier, born in Couillet near Charleroi on August 18, 1879, was the son of Émile Cambier, a fitter, and Eugénie Ficheroulle. He married Lucienne Petitjean in Charleroi on September 26, 1946.

He studied at the college in Ixelles (Brussels) before entering the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, where he studied portraiture under portraitists Joseph Stallaert and Gustave Vanaise until 1900. At the age of twenty-one, he had already exhibited at the Brussels Salon, with a portrait of a young girl and a landscape[1].

Professional life
In 1903, Cambier exhibited at the Triennial Salon of Fine Arts in Brussels, showing a drawing of a Brabant tavern keeper, a kermesse, a large painting of the Cid and the Leper, and a pastel study of Salome[1].

He traveled to the United States (1906–1909), initially working in Ascenzo's studios. He continued to paint portraits and, in 1907, exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, where he won the John Wanamaker Prize. Later, during its construction, he designed large stained-glass windows for the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart[2] in Newark, New Jersey[3].

He returned to Belgium in 1909, where he painted more portraits and then began painting landscapes. In 1914, he organized an exhibition of his works in Blankenberge, Belgium. Following the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, he managed to make his way to England. The war, however, resulted in the loss of several of his canvases[1].

He then spent 19 years intermittently in the United Kingdom (1914–1933), including in 1915 and 1916. He donated some of his works for auction on behalf of the British Red Cross, where they fetched prices comparable to those of the finest English artists. In 1923, he became a member of the Royal British Academy of Arts in 1923[citation needed]. This period was notable for his becoming a resident guest of Lord and Lady Barber at Culham Court, near Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.

work dimensions: unframed: 28 cm x 35 cm


The work is signed at the lower right.
There is a split in the panel; see photos.
Various inscriptions on the back of the frame; see photos.

Auction results for Nestor CAMBIER in painting:

Lively Marina
Nestor CAMBIER
Oil/canvas/cardboard
30 x 40 cm
Hammer price: €460
24/04/2018
Horta
Pondside
No image

Pondside
Nestor CAMBIER
Oil/canvas
27 x 36 cm
Hammer price: €326
12/11/1991
Horta
Dune Landscape
No image

Dune Landscape
Nestor CAMBIER
Oil/cardboard
30 x 40 cm
Estimate: €200 - €300
Hammer price: €180
30/03/2003
Monsantic
Old Bridge at Quai Vert, Bruges
Nestor CAMBIER
Oil/panel
24 x 30 cm
Estimate: €120 - €180
Hammer price: €180
24/03/2023
Marc Van de Wiele Auctions