16th Mar, 2024 9:30 GMT/BST

British, European & Sporting Art

 
  Lot 1156
 

1156

British School (18th century)
Portrait of a lady, half length, wearing a white satin dress, in a feigned oval
Oil on canvas, 74.5cm by 62.5cm

Sold for £480
Estimated at £400 - £600


 

A lining from the second half of the 20th century, with stretcher dating from the same time with all keys present. The canvas visible at the back of the painting is loose, and does not appear to have been impregnated with adhesive. A possible secondary / half lining? The original tacking margins present on all sides, and the canvas is fairly rigid but undulating and not taught/supported.

There is a widespread large scale brittle age craquelure and impact craquelure throughout, along with linear cracking associated with the stretcher bar. Much of this is slightly raised, especially in the face and left background. A few scattered lifting corners but the vast majority appears secure. A few tiny pinpoint losses associated with the cracking.

There is a campaign of slighly matt, murky retouching to the top edge where the original ground is exposed, to minor looses along the edges and scattered minor losses across the painting. Some retouching, too, to gold paint/leaf on the surface. There is the same matt retouching in long brushstrokes to the hair and long curls.

There has been some abrasion to the mid-tones and glazes to the face and hair.

Old ingrained dirt and varnish is visible in the troughs of the brushstrokes apparent in the lighter passages, and remnants of old varnish has been left on in the background which obscures enough to not be able to see if there is an older campaign of retouching here.

There is a thick layer of surface dirt and debris over a fairly glossy varnish, with some more recent abrasions to the varnish from movement in the frame at the edges


Examined in frame

 


We are happy to provide Condition Reports to prospective buyers, but would welcome your request as soon as possible, preferably at least 48 hours before the Day of Sale. We cannot guarantee a reply to any requests made within 48 hours of the start of the auction. The absence of a Condition Report from a lot does not mean that the lot is in perfect condition. A Condition Report is an honest expression of our opinion, not a statement of fact and is provided as a service to the seller. All lots are available on public view ahead of an auction and we encourage prospective buyers to inspect an item in person where possible. Our Condition Reports are not prepared by professional conservators, restorers, or engineers, and are prepared with the naked eye unless otherwise stated.

Regarding Pictures, Prints and Works on Paper, works are not examined out of the frame, unless specifically stated. Tennants Auctioneers do not cover damage to gilded wood or plaster picture frames, or to picture frame glass whilst the item is in our possession.

We accept no liability for the opinions expressed in any Condition Report.

Auction: British, European & Sporting Art, 16th Mar, 2024

Coming up for auction this Spring are three notable works by Adolphe Valette (1876-1942), a French Impressionist artist who spent the majority of his career in the North of England. Whilst he is best remembered today as being the highly influential tutor to L.S. Lowry, Valette created a significant body of work in oils, watercolours and drawing media. All three works are sold with provenance from The Perera Collection, the largest collection of works by Valette to have been assembled in private hands.

Further notable works in the sale include an exquisitely detailed still life of a peach, black grapes and cobnuts on a marble shelf by Emilie Preyer (1849-1930), and a work by historical genre painter Edward Matthew Ward (1816-1879) that depicts the hero of a popular comic ballad, John Gilpin.

The sale will also see the final part of the Raymond Booth Studio, comprising 19 works. Raymond Booth (1929-2015) was perhaps the greatest botanical artist and illustrator of his generation, and his passion for the natural world shines through in his highly detailed oil studies of flora and fauna.

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Sunday 10 March - Friday 15 March 11am-4pm, and morning of sale from 8am

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