Mark Senior (1864-1927)
| Artist Name | Mark Senior (1864-1927) |
|---|---|
| Title | Portrait of Edward Cauldwell Spruce |
| Description | This superb British Victorian exhibited portrait oil painting is by noted artist Mark Senior. It was painted in 1898 and exhibited at the Royal Academy that year. The sitter is Edward Cauldwell Spruce (1865-1922) playing a violin. He was an English sculptor and artist who mainly worked in Leeds. He became president of the Leeds branch of Savage Club in 1912. The original London Savage Club was founded in 1857, named after one of the members called Richard Savage, but the style of the meetings reflected the influence of the American Indians. Leeds Savage Club was founded in 1898 by writer and art dealer Edmund Bogg, along with painters Owen Bowen and Mark Senior, architect Percy Robinson, sculptor Edward Caldwell Spruce, and artist and cartoonist J.H. Dodgson. Meetings were often held at Mark Senior's studio. Concerts were often held to raise money for various charities and perhaps Spruce played the violin on some occasions. In this three-quarter length portrait oil painting Spruce is standing, wearing a brown three piece suit and dark blue cravat and is playing a violin, pictured against a plain but rich background. The details in his face and hands are superb and the light beautifully illuminates the violin and musician. The artist and sitter were long standing friends and Spruce is sympathetically portrayed. This is a superb British Victorian exhibited musical portrait oil painting of Spruce as a violinist, rather than the sculptor he was famous for being and is an excellent example of Senior's work. Signed and dated 1898 lower right. |
| Provenance | Anonymous Christie's Sale, London, 28th February 1975, Lot 10 Christie's South Kensington, "Peter Langan: A Life with Art", December 18th, 2012, Lot 41 Private Collection, East Yorkshire Exhibited: The Royal Academy, as "E. Cauldwell Spruce Esq." 1898, no. 410 Christie's stencil 294AA verso. |
| Medium | Oil on Canvas |
| Size | 33 x 47 inches |
| Frame | Housed in a maple wood frame with name plate, 54 inches by 40 inches, in good condition. |
| Condition | Good condition. |
| Biography | Mark Senior (1864-1927) came from Dewsbury and trained first at Wakefield School of Art before moving to the Slade, where he formed friendships with Tonks, Brown and especially Steer, whom he accompanied on a painting trip to Walberswick in 1906. His own favourite site for painting was Runswick Bay, and he was a founder member of the Staithes Group of Artists. It was as a painter of Yorkshire that Senior developed his reputation. The earlier influence of Clausen began to dissipate, and although he was still regarded as possessing Clausen’s poetic feeling for nature, his technique increasingly reflected his interest in Steer, Whistler and the Impressionists. Above all Senior came to be viewed as a colourist. A studio critic in later years felt that the broad treatment and rich impasto of such works as the ‘Flemish Warehouse’ meant that the artist should be seen as ‘one of the best colourists of the Flemish School’. The same writer felt in 1917 that, unlike his friend Orpen, Senior believed with Fromentin that ‘la belle peinture est sans prix’. From 1892-1924 Senior exhibited at the Royal Academy, although much of his best work was produced for private clients, and in particular for Sam Wilson. He is most frequently cited for bright impressionistic pictures of Staithes and Runswick Bay. At times he employs dense overlays of paint and broken brushwork reminiscent of Lavery in his beach scenes, while, in interiors and his Belgian paintings, he appears under the sway of Clausen. |
| Price | £5000 |
