John Piper, 1903-1992, was a painter but also a designer of stained glass windows which perhaps relates to his interest in churches. He was an official war artist for WW2 and would have been in the Warwickshire area when he created paintings of the bombed Coventry cathedral.
There is a copy of this painting in Leamington Art Gallery. It is supposedly created in the 1940s, although not dated.
The picture was sold in 2011 at Christies. Estimate was £50,000 to £70,000. It earlier sold for £17,250 in 1999, again at Christies.
Signed ‘John Piper’ (lower right), signed again and inscribed ‘John Piper/Wolfhamcote Church/oil’ (on the reverse)
oil on canvas laid down on board
25 x 29 in. (63.5 x 75 cm.)
John Piper and John Betjeman visit the church
John Piper was a friend of John Betjeman who wrote an article in the Spectator magazine about their visit to the church shortly after WWII. The article can be found here.