Lot 52
  • 52

Joseph Wright of Derby, A.R.A.

Estimate
200,000 - 300,000 GBP
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Description

  • Joseph Wright of Derby, A.R.A.
  • STUDY OF A BOY READING
  • inscribed by William Bemrose on the mount (verso): Drawn by / ''Wright of Derby''/ WBemrose / N.B. This drawing will be spoilt if / touched by finger, brush or...
  • black and white chalk, on laid paper, held in a British 'Carlo Maratta' frame
  • 42 by 28 cm.; 16 1/2 by 11 in.

Provenance

By descent from the artist to his grandaughter Margaret Romana Simpson who married William Bemrose (1831-1908);
by descent to their son William Bemrose, by 1883; 
by descent to Brigadier-General W. Wright Bemrose by 1930;
Anonymous sale, Sotheby's London, 30 November 2000, lot 1;
with Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, London
 

Exhibited

Derby, Corporation Art Gallery, Catalogue of Paintings by Wright of Derby, 1883, no. 55 as 'Portrait - A Boy Reading (in crayon)'

Literature

Connoisseur Magazine, December 1930, LXXXVI, p. 351;
Burlington Magazine, CXLIV, February 2002 (as an advertisement for Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox)

Condition

Support: The artist has used a sheet of laid paper to support this pastel drawing. The condition of the sheet is good, there are slight undulations on the right edge where the sheet has been restricted at some point in its life. Medium: The pastel is rich and velvety and in a good condition. There are some tiny surface losses to the medium in places. Note: this work was viewed behind glass and outside studio conditions. For further information regarding this lot please contact Mark Griffith-Jones (0207 293 5083) or Emmeline Hallmark (0207 293 5407) mark.griffithjones@sothebys.com emmeline.hallmark@sothebys.com
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

This beautiful and delicately drawn portrait of a young boy reading with such earnest concentration encapsulates the very essence of the Age of Enlightenment. It is a rare early drawing in chalk which dates from circa 1766. 

The young sitter, possibly aged ten or twelve years old, gazes intently onto the book below. The book appears rather aptly to be the source of light. It is thought that this sitter was also one of the models used in Wright's first scientific painting A Philosopher giving the lecture on the Orrery, (Derby Museum and Art Gallery) exhibited at the Society of Artists in 1766 (see previous lot in this sale). The painting was bought by Washington Shirley, 5th Earl Ferrers and tradition suggests that the sitter was possibly a friend or relation of Earl Ferrers. Two other figures in the Orrery have traditionally and convincingly been identified, one being Ferrers' nephew Lawrence Shirley and the other his friend Peter Perez Burdett. The present drawing is not a study for the Orrery, but perhaps the sitter was a ready-to-hand model on whose face the artist could practice his skill at portraying the play of light, with the painting in mind.

Wright's known portrait studies in black and white chalk tend to date from the 1760s. Three were exhibited in Wright of Derby at the Tate London in 1990 including two self-portraits dating from circa 1765 and circa 1767-70 (both Derby Art Gallery) and two studies of young girls in costume from circa 1768 (Henry Reitlinger Trustees and Private Collection). These chalk drawings appear to show the influence of both Dutch candlelight pictures and of the drawings and engraved works of the Irishman Thomas Frye (1710-1762) from which Wright derived ideas. All have the same contemplative, tranquil air of the present work, the same confident handling and extraordinary quality.

This drawing descended from Wright to his grandaughter Margaret Romana Simpson who married William Bemrose (1831-1908). Bemrose owned a print and publishing firm in Derbyshire and publised a sumptuously illustrated book on Wright and his own collection entitled Life and Work of Joseph Wright;  A Descriptive Catalogue of Porcelain and other Art Objects in 1885.