Visions of The East

Old Master, British & European Art | 4 April 2023

Assembled over many years by a well-travelled private individual, it includes a variety of topographical works of places that were of interest to them – most noticeably of Israel and Palestine, but also of northern France and their home in London, together with some still lifes and figure studies. They have predominantly chosen to collect works on paper. We are pleased to be offering this collection in our forthcoming sale.

Works From The Collection From Our Forthcoming Auction

^{David Roberts RA RBA (1796-1864)}

^Jaffa
^{signed and dated 'David Roberts, 1839' l.r., further inscribed 'Jaffa, March 26th 1839' c.l., pen and ink and watercolour heightened with white}
^{24 x 34.5cm}

^{£20,000-30,000}

Europeans were fascinated by the Orient; the colourful costumes, customs, and animals that populated the region, together with the impressive architecture and ancient monuments situated on hugely significant biblical sites. One of the pioneers of this orientalist movement in the 19th century is David Roberts RA (1796-1864) whose famous journey to Egypt and The Holy Land of 1838-9 inspired a generation of intrepid artists to venture east in his wake, in search of the exotic.

Roberts’s watercolour of ‘Jaffa’, probably painted on the spot, would have been a subject rarely if ever seen before by the British public. Highly regarded as one of the finest topographical artists of the 19th century, ‘Jaffa’ is one of the highlights of this collection.

^{Albert Goodwin RWS (1845-1932)}
^{'The Cities of the Plain'}
^{signed and dated 'Albert Goodwin.1898' l.r., and inscribed 'And Lot pitched his tent towards Sodom' l.l., further inscribed on the artist's label attached to the reverse, watercolour heightened with white}
^{47.5 x 67cm}

^{£2,000-3,000}

^{Edward Lear (1812-1888)}
^{'Hebron', figures and camels, the city beyond, c.1858}
^{signed 'Edward Lear del.' l.l., inscribed 'Hebron' l.r., pen and ink and watercolour heightened with white}
^{15.4 x 23cm}

^{£5,000-8,000}

Edward Lear (1812-1888) visited Egypt and the Holy Land in the late 1840s. The artist, illustrator and poet produced a huge number of dexterous on the spot sketches during his travels which took him as far as India. No doubt often the work of a few minutes’ work, they are skilful pen and ink studies, highlighted with economical touches of watercolour and white, with not a mark out of place or in need of correction, such was Lear’s talent.

He visited Hebron in April 1858, passing through Bethlehem en route to Petra. In a letter sent to Lady Waldrave on 27 May 1958 from Damascus, Lear discusses various compositional ideas for executing a painting for her. He says of Hebron: “….. there is Hebron, which is very particularly a Hewbrew antiquity, & is besides sufficiently picturesque to form a good picture: though why Abraham choose to live there I cannot think: I found it abominably cold & wet, & besides, they threw stones at me whenever I drew, so that I wished the whole population in Abraham’s bosom or elsewhere 20 times a day.”

Additional Works

^{Henry Andrew Harper (1835-1900)}
^Jerusalem
^{signed with initials l.r., watercolour heightened with white}
^{18.8 x 29.2cm}

^£700-1,000

^{Jozef Israëls (Dutch,1824-1911)}
^{Returning from the fields}
^{signed 'Jozef Israels' l.l., watercolour heightened with white}
^{24.5 x 34.5cm}

^{£2,000-3,000}

^{Edmund Fürst (German-Israeli, 1874-1955)}
^{'On the River Yarkon, Tel Aviv, Israel'}
^{signed in Hebrew and dated '52' l.l., watercolour}
^{32.5 x 23.5cm}

^£200-300

^{Edmund Fürst (German-Israeli,1874-1955)
Safed, Israel
signed 'E. Fürst' l.l., watercolour
35 x 24cm}

^£200-300

Other highlights of the collection include ‘Return from the fields’, a beautifully observed watercolour of a peasant woman pushing her child through the fields in a wheel barrow by the Dutch artist Jozef Israëls (1824-1911) and 'Jerusalem' by Henry Andrew Harper (1835-1900). In addition to these watercolours by well-known names, there are interesting additions by little known names like Henry Boddington (1849-1925) and his sketches of figures in Jerusalem, or the more modern works by Edmund Fürst (1874-1955), documenting Tel Aviv in the 1950s.

^{Henry Boddington (1849-1925)}
^{'Abraham Baran (70), Jerusalem. Jew at the wailing place'}
^{dated '18.3.97' l.l. and inscribed with title l.r., pencil and watercolour}
^{29 x 22.5cm}

^£200-£300

Old Master, British & European Art

Tuesday 4 April

BROWSE THE AUCTION

Viewing Information

Highlights from our forthcoming sale of Old Master, British & European Art sale, including the Angelica Kauffman works are currently on view in our London gallery. The exhibition also includes a fine seascape by Eugène Boudin, a selection of portraiture, and works by Edward Atkinson Hornel and John Brett. Works will be on view until March 24th.

London Gallery | 15 Cecil Court | London | WC2N 4EZ

Monday-Friday 11am-5.30pm | Saturday 1pm-5pm

The full sale will be available to view at our Stansted Mountfitchet Auctions Rooms

Cambridge Road | Stansted Mountfitchet | Essex | CM24 8GE

Sunday 2 April - 10am-2pm | Monday 3 April - 9.30am-5pm

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