Well painted original watercolour by listed Yorkshire artist Eric Hill (1921 - 2021), painted circa 1980.

Titled "Afternoon Shift" depicting West Yorkshire miners 'Going on Afters' at Ackton Hall Colliery at Featherstone, near Pontefract.

Signed lower right, inscribed verso "Acton Hall" and with the artist's original exhibition label on the back board, giving the title and his details.

Provenance; from the artist's estate.

Watercolour, gouache and felt tip pen on heavy wove paper. In a stained wood frame with new conservation mount.

Watercolour in excellent original condition, with fresh strong colour (see photo). Frame with some very slight nicks and scratches, mount new (see photos). 

Image 22cm x 32cm, frame 31.7cm x 41.7cm.

One of a small collection of the artist's work I have listed.

Comes with our Certificate of Authenticity - guaranteed authentic and original.

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Eric Hill 1921 - 2021

British townscape, landscape and figure painter in watercolours.

Eric Hill was born in Hellifield, North Yorkshire in 1921, moving with his family to Royston near Barnsley when he was seven years old. After leaving school, Hill went to work as a painter and decorator for the National Coal Board, where he was to work for the rest of his life except for a period of six years when he served in the Army as a driver during the Second World War.

It was on his return from service that Hill first discovered his love of art and his talent for painting. As well as deriving inspiration from the Yorkshire landscape, Hill documented the streets of his hometown as well as the collieries that were the hub of the West Yorkshire mining communities. He exhibited in numerous art galleries, including the Cooper Gallery in Barnsley, and he has paintings held in the collections of the National Mining Museum for England and the Doncaster Arts and Museums Society.

A member of active local art societies, Eric Hill also entered numerous competitions organised by the National Coal Board and the British Watercolour Society, in which he won several prizes.

Ackton Hall Colliery was a major coal mine located in Featherstone, near Pontefract in West Yorkshire. Established in 1873 as Featherstone Manor Colliery, it was the first pit to close following the end of the 1984–1985 national miners' strike. The site was subsequently cleared to become an industrial estate.

The 1893 Riot: The colliery is historically infamous for the "Ackton Hall Colliery Riot" of 1893. During a bitter strike over wage cuts, troops were called in and opened fire on crowds, resulting in two miners being killed.

Peak Operation: The mine was a massive local employer, with over 1,600 workers on its books when it was taken over by the National Coal Board in 1947. It tapped multiple seams including the Haigh Moor, Silkstone, Stanley Main, and Warren House.

Closure: After undergoing a major, yet ultimately unsuccessful, reconstruction in the 1970s, the pit was closed in early 1985 immediately following the miners' strike.

Heritage: The history and local archives of the colliery are actively preserved by community heritage groups such as the Fevarchive Project, which documents the colliery's evolution and the surrounding community.