$34999
$34999
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Description:
Member of the Royal Academy, Court Scene, Measurements: 40" x 26",
original ornate frame 48" x 34".
The painting received estimates of $27,000 to $36,000 from Christies of London 6 years ago.
Provenance:
Authenticity Guaranteed. The painting came from a large collection of art
from a family in Denver, Colorado. All the art had been bought for the family
in the 1950s by a designer/decorator in New York and before the family moved
to Colorado. All the paintings had been kept in storage for the past 20-30 years.
As mentioned in his biography, for much of his life, Frith depicted in elaborate
and detailed paintings, scenes from literary and historical texts. This painting,
as evidenced by the note affixed to the verso, represents a scene from Evelyn's
Diary by John Evelyn (1620-1706).
Condition:
Excellent condition.
Artist's Biography:
Frith, William Powell (born Aldfield, near Ripon, N. Yorks, 9 Jan 1819; died
St. John's Wood, London, 2 Nov 1909). English painter. His parents were in domestic
employment before taking a hotel in Harrogate in 1826. They encouraged him to
become an artist, despite his own desire to be an auctioneer. While at school
in Dover, Frith sketched caricatures and copies of Dutch genre scenes (Dover
Mus.) that betray his disposition to narratives. His taste did not accord with
the academic training he received at Henry Sass’s Academy in London (1835–7)
and at the Royal Academy Schools (1837). Frith began his career as a portrait
painter, using members of his family as models. He first exhibited at the British
Institution in 1838, and during the 1840s he established himself with his entertaining
historical and literary subjects in the popular tradition of C. R. Leslie, William
Mulready and Sir David Wilkie. He was a member of THE CLIQUE, which included
Richard Dadd, Augustus Egg, Henry O’Neil and John Phillip. His friendship
with Charles Dickens began with commissions for paintings of Dolly Varden (London,
V&A) and Kate Nickleby (untraced) in 1842. Frith’s works are part of
the permanent collections at: Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London; Mercer
Art Gallery; Royal Albert Memorial Museum; Royal Halloway, University of London;
Russel-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth; Tate Britain; Dickens House
Museum and Library, London; and York City Art Gallery. They are also on view
at Mercer Art Gallery, Rossendale Museum, Smith Art Gallery, Brighouse, and
Victoria and Albert Museum, London .