04/09/2026
THE STORY OF A PAINTING THAT FOUND ITS WAY HOME
Around 20 years ago, I spotted this painting at Mander Auctions in Clare, Suffolk. I knew nothing about the artist or the history of the picture at the time, but the moment I saw its boats, water and atmospheric harbour, it reminded me of family holidays in Dittisham.
That connection was enough for me, so I bought it.
The painting is titled The White Ship. It depicts a wonderfully atmospheric working harbour, with a collection of traditional boats gathered beside the quay. The white-hulled vessel in the foreground immediately draws the eye, while the tall masts, waterside buildings and reflections lead into the distance beneath a large and beautifully unsettled sky.
For many years, I simply enjoyed the painting for what it was and for the memories it evoked. More recently, however, curiosity encouraged me to look more closely at the signature in the bottom corner. It appears to read âCeunisâ, with a small monogram beneath it, leading to the fascinating discovery that the artist is believed to be Gerard Ceunis.
Gerard Ceunis was born in Ghent, Belgium, in 1885. He trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, graduating in 1912, and began exhibiting his work professionally shortly afterwards. Following the German invasion of Belgium in 1914, Ceunis and his young family fled to England, which became their permanent home.
He eventually settled in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, during the late 1920s, where he became a well-known local figure as both an artist and businessman. Alongside his painting, he opened a successful ladiesâ clothing shop called Maison Gerard in Hitchinâs Market Place.
Ceunis exhibited in Britain during his lifetime, including a major retrospective at the Arlington Gallery in London in 1930. His work was influenced by Belgian Impressionism and particularly by the style known as Luminism, which concentrated on capturing the effects of light within a landscape. He seems to have been especially drawn to water and reflectionsâqualities that can be seen so clearly in The White Ship.
The painting now hangs in the bedroom at Higher Dart Cottage. After travelling from an unknown harbour, through an auction room in Suffolk and then spending 20 years with us, it somehow feels as though it has finally found the home it was always meant for, overlooking another village shaped by boats, water and generations of maritime life.
A painting bought because it reminded me of Dittisham, now forming a small but very special part of the cottageâs own story.
