We have chosen Wallace's The Rendezvous for our Valentine's Day painting, depicting Elsie Viola Robinson awaiting her fiancee. Such a beautiful and romantic painting.
James Wallace (1872-1911)
The Rendezvous - Portrait of Elsie Viola Robinson
This stunning romantic exhibited Scottish Edwardian Impressionist portrait oil painting is by noted Scottish artist James Wallace. Painted in 1908 with excellent provenance, the brushwork and colouring are superb. The sitter is Elsie Viola Robinson, the fiancee of the artist. The composition is a full length portrait of Elsie and her Old English Sheep dog in a Lincolnshire landscape. She is eagerly waiting for her fiancee, hence the title, The Rendevous. She poses in a plumed hat and beautiful dress with a spray of violas attached, her name's sake. A tremendous painting and an excellent example of Wallace's work.
Signed and dated James Wallace 08 lower centre.
Provenance Royal Academy London, 1908, no. 135 The Rendezvous.
Exhibited Manchester 1908, Dicksee and Co label verso.
Exhibited Glasgow 1909, Dicksee and Co label verso.
Remains of Ferrins Gallery Hull label verso.
Christie's stamps verso.
Below is our painting by Arthur Hughes, The Convent Boat and one from Birmingham Art Gallery, The Long Engagement that we recently viewed.
Arthur Hughes (1832-1915)
The Convent Boat
This stunning British Victorian Pre-Raphaelite oil painting is by noted artist Arthur Hughes. It was painted circa 1874 and has extensive provenance. The composition is of a novice nun leaving her family to cross a river, in the Convent Boat, to go to her new life in cloisters on the other side. The fact that the artist returned to the subject several times confirms his fondness for the composition. The painting shows the emotional moment in which a young novice leaves her family for the convent. The ramifications of her decision are laid bare for the viewer. Dressed as a bride of Christ, the novice's austere clothing contrasts with the sumptuous garb of those standing on the river bank. While her family lament her departure, she holds a prayer book and looks away solemnly, appearing resolute in her choice. Soft evening light descends over the trees and reflects serenely across the water. The convent walls, overgrown with dense ivy, suggest the institution's agedness, connecting it with England's spiritual heritage. This is a superb painting with wonderful detail and colouring, telling the story of a young woman's turning point in life. It is also an excellent example of Hughes immense skill as a Pre-Raphaelite Victorian artist.
Signed lower left.
Provenance Bought by Mrs. Ann Fleming in 1963.
Sale Christie's, 25 March 1966, lot 145, as 'The last Farewell' bought by Naylor Leyland.
Sale, Sotheby's, 26 July 1967, lot 361 (£160) bought by David W. Hughes.
Sale, Sotheby's, 30 October 1968, lot 118 (£190) bought by Colson.
Sale, Sotheby's Belgravia, 22 February 1972, lot 109 (£650) The Fine Art Society.
Purchased from Fine Art Society in November 1973 by Michael Hasenclever.
Galerie R. Hartmann in November 1973.
Sale, Sotheby's Belgravia, 9 April 1980, lot 17 (£11,000) bought by David Crew-Read on behalf of Lloyd Webber.
Acquired from Lord Lloyd Webber by Mrs Jeremy Norris.
Private collection, UK Exhibited: London,The Aesthetic Movement and the Cult of Japan , The Fine Art Society, 3-27 October 1972 (no.24, repr. p.14)
Munich, Burne-Jones und der Einfluß der Prä-Raffaeliten, Michael Hasenclever, 29 November 1972 -10 January 1973 (No.11, DM16,500, repr.)
Baden-Baden, Germany, Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden 1973 (No.84, repr. colour, p.147)
Literature: M. Amory, ed. The Letters of Evelyn Waugh, 1980, p.607.
L. Roberts and S. Wildman, Arthur Hughes: His Life and Works, A Catalogue Raisonné, Woodbridge Suffolk:
Antique Collectors' Club, 1997, no.131.3. ill., p.184
The couple in this painting are engaged but unable to marry as he's a curate (an assistant to a parish priest) and doesnt earn enough to support a wife. They've been in love so long that the ivy has grown over her name, Amy, carved into the bark of the tree. Early summer has arrived, wild roises are blooming and the squirrels in the woodland are pairing off, but these two remain stuck in limbo.
Hughes painted the landscape outdoors. He battled persistent rain, the roses closing up and an attack by an angry bee to paint the wooded setting directly from nature in amazing detail.
Text from Birmingham Art Gallery.
Birmingham Art Gallery has only recently re opened after a long closure and not all the galleries are open as yet. Check their website for more details.
This superb large exhibited British Victorian oil painting is by noted artist Thomas Falcon Marshall. Painted in 1849 it was exhibited at the Royal Academy London that year. This large painting depicts a father on his white horse saying goodbye to his family before heading off to the harvest, hence the exhibition title, 'the Orphans of the Village - Harvest Time'. There is also a partial quote from a poem by James Thomson. It is a beautiful landscape populated with several groups of people including the father and his family, workers having a drink behind him and labourers around the waggon in the field beyond. There is tremendous detail and beautiful colouring making this a thoroughly charming Victorian rustic genre scene and an excellent example of Marshall's work.
Signed lower left.
Provenance. Exhibited at the Royal Academy London, 1849 No. 612 entitled 'The Orphans of the Village - Harvest Time'. 'Be not too narrow, husbandman! but fling from the full sheaf, with charitable
stealth, the liberal handful'. James Thomson
This beautiful Scottish Impressionist Edwardian architectural oil painting is by noted artist James Kay. Painted circa 1900 the painting is of Exeter Cathedral in Exeter in Devon in the south west of England. The composition shows the square leading up to the cathedral which is populated with figures dressed in their finery, many with parasols and even a horse and cart. One can just see a couple of buildings to the right of the cathedral and trees on the left. The cathedral itself fills three quarters of the canvas and is easily identified by its architecture. The Impressionist brushwork and heavy impasto are superb. The use of blue for shadows on the square echoes up to the blue sky showing through the clouds and is reminiscent of Monet and his exterior cathedral scenes. This is a stunning Scottish Impressionist Edwardian oil painting and an excellent example of Kay's work.
Celebrarting Imbolc, a Gaelic traditional festival marking the start of spring, and for Christians is the feast
day of Saint Brigid, Ireland's patroness saint. Held on the 1st February, about halfway between the
winter solstice and the spring equinox.
Miles Peter Richmond (1922-2008)
Abstract Yellow Flowers
This superb British 1940's abstract expressionist oil painting is by noted founder member of the Borough Group artist, Miles Peter Richmond. Painted in 1947 it has another unfinished oil painting verso by the same artist. Richmond was a huge admirer and follower of David Bomberg, having studied under him. Indeed he followed Bomberg to Spain where he lived and worked for twenty years. Bomberg's influence can been seen in this painting with its bold brushwork and vibrant colours as well as incredible visual depth. This is a fantastic example of British abstract art in the 1940's and of Richmond's work.
Unsigned.
Provenance. The Artist, from whom acquired by previous owner, 2001
Private Collection, UK.
Bartley Grey Gallery London. Label Verso.
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