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Scenic portrayals of Derbyshire have featured in thousands of paintings, executed in many different styles and media, but perhaps only one artist has attempted to encapsulate the entire county in a single canvas.

The ink and watercolour painting pictured here was created in 1960 by the London-born artist Stanley Roy Badmin (1906-1989), after he had been engaged by the Shell Oil Company to help illustrate their expanding range of travel guides aimed at motorists.

At first glance the painting looks attractive in a cheerful sort of way, if nothing more. But it is a canvas which warrants much closer scrutiny, for within a space measuring only 16 inches by 13 inches, the artist has made a valiant attempt to distil the very essence of Derbyshire itself.

The scene is painted as if looking from the mouth of one of Derbyshire’s many caves. Ranged across its entrance, left to right, are some symbols of the county:

Next to a vase made from Derbyshire spar is a shepherdess of Derby porcelain, and in front of that a lump of ore from an old Derbyshire lead mine. Propped up behind it is The Compleat Angler, the celebrated book by Izaak Walton, who so loved to fish the River Dove. With it is a volume by his friend Charles Cotton – Wonders of the Peak – upon which lies a gemstone of Blue John, next to a tourist trinket made from that same rare material, unique to the Castleton area.

Adjacent that, is a different kind of gem - the legendary Bakewell Pudding - and beside it a montage of further Derbyshire icons - Chatsworth House, Haddon Hall, the twisted church spire at Chesterfield, a well-dressing, and the rare Saxon cross from Eyam.

Beyond the cave there is much more. Ramblers wend their way past a limestone farmhouse, and up between neat dry-stone walls dividing fields in which sheep and cattle quietly graze.

In the middle distance the scene gives way to a limestone gorge, verdant dales, and a meandering river, backed by the dark moors of the High Peak. Haddon Hall nestles among the trees centre right, and to its left is a typical Derbyshire village, with an arched bridge spanning the river.

Further left still is the tall chimney of a mill, and beyond it the coal heaps and pitheads of a mining community. Behind that again, barely discernible in the widening vale, lies a large town which must surely be Derby, its cathedral tower ringed by belching stacks, with just a hint of a power station on the far horizon.

Top right is a reservoir and dam, and upper centre a steam train enters a tunnel, with a crag-top castle to its left. Badmin also makes a concession to a more modern form of transport, an aeroplane at the top margin against a clear blue sky – although he knows his Derbyshire weather, for grey clouds are closing in.

Considering the illustration was for a motoring guide, it might be considered strange that Badmin depicts only a tractor, not even a token car being visible. But that is artistic licence at its best – this was an unashamed advertisement for the charms of Derbyshire, and A6 traffic jams were strictly beyond the remit.

It is of course a composite scene, with no serious claim to authenticity, but a clever one all the same, offering an idyllic view of Derbyshire in all its glory.

For many years the original painting was kept largely unseen in the Shell archives, but the company eventually decided to sell it. At Sotheby’s London auction rooms on 4 July 2002, the hammer fell on Stanley Badmin’s ‘Derbyshire’ at a cool £6,462.

Sotheby’s were not obliged to disclose the name of the buyer, so it is not generally known if the painting came home to Derbyshire or not.

Perhaps you know of the picture’s whereabouts. If so, why not complete its journey and this story too – just click on the ‘edit’ link and start writing.

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County:  Derbyshire

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