BROTHERS OF THE WHEEL

This is the only known and probably the earliest example of a Patterson oil painting. It appears to have been painted on board and, it must be said, the bicycles are drawn without merit – he had yet to master the difficult art of drawing bicycles. It was produced in 1892 when he was 21 years of age and working at a commercial art studio in London. The painting was used to illustrate a story called Brothers of the Wheel that was in a book by James Western titled A Night in the Woods and published by Sampson Low, Marston & Company Ltd. The book contained two other works by Patterson, a wash dated 1892 entitled Paddling his Own Canoe, and a pen and ink illustration dated 1893, about the adventures of some schoolboys. Later that year he did something that was to change the course of his life, he submitted a drawing to the editor of Cycling magazine. The drawing was accepted and over the following 59 years hardly an issue of that publication appeared without a Patterson drawing.

STUDY IN BLUE AND BLACK

This study in watercolour shows the artist at his romantic best. Central to the work is an artist, which could be Patterson himself, who has travelled by bicycle to what appears to be a ruined castle, and is seated under the shade of a tree recording the scene in oils. The work was commissioned by Cycling as a cover for the magazine in 1920. Space at the left-hand bottom of the painting was left blank to accommodate a write-up by Rudge-Whitworth, the manufacturer of the bicycle featured. The margin of the original watercolour carries an inscription, ‘This model (bicycle) is not fitted with a cotterless bottom bracket and is not supplied with a lamp’. The artwork was rejected and returned to Cycling, thus becoming one of the few surviving Patterson watercolours.

"GOOD LUCK"

A 1925 drawing in pen and ink depicting a racing man in full flight shows Patterson’s mastery in the drawing of that most difficult of subjects, a man on a bicycle. The time-trialist is shown on a machine with the then fashionable deep-drop handlebars, mounted on a “Major Taylor” stem and fitted with a challis bell. His feet are secured to the pedals by toe-clips and straps. These accessories were de rigueur for the stylish racing man of the day and shows Patterson’s attention to detail. The caption “A Human Touch – very different to the treatment served out to some of us about thirty years ago!” refers to the persecution of cyclists thought to be racing during the late 1890’s. At that time policemen were known to push sticks into the wheels of speeding cyclists to stop them – and very successful it was too!

THE WHITSUN TOUR

An evocative pen and ink drawing dated 1928, when inns and hotels welcomed cyclists and made special provision for them, like the storage of bicycles and when bed and breakfast in a Cyclists’ Touring Club appointed premises was available for 5/6 (30p). The landlord of The Barleymow Inn is seen welcoming the two riders who, dressed in plus four suits (one even has a bowtie!) are treated as old and valued guests. Patterson’s passion for detail is renowned, and the closely observed architectural and bicycle detailing is meticulous. On close examination of the drawing one is constantly reminded how well he new his subject.

ON A SUMMER TOUR

A pen and ink drawing created in 1928 as a cover design for Cycling magazine, this is a fascinating example of Patterson’s skill in depicting the architectural detail of a building. Many inns at that time offered refreshment to travellers who did not wish to enter premises where alcohol was served; one rang the bell and the landlord would bring to the window any refreshment the heart desired. The cyclist featured is obviously on tour; his bicycle is fitted with a saddlebag and panniers to carry a change of clothing and overnight gear. He is dressed in the fashion of the day, plus fours, long socks, strap-over cycling shoes and an alpaca jacket, with a map in the pocket and a club badge in his lapel. Thus clad he is ready to face whatever the British weather throws at him. Slung over his shoulder is a camera, no doubt one of the latest Kodak cyclist specials. A nostalgic scene, sadly gone forever.