John Atkinson Grimshaw

Sotheby's, Belgravia, 24 October 1978, lot 244;
Richard Green, London;
Private collection

STRUCTURE The canvas has been relined. There is a tiny surface abrasion to the sky upper centre and some light craquelure to the wall and tree lower left. Otherwise the work is in good condition, clean and ready to hang. ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT UV reveals an opaque varnish which makes the reading diffiuclt to interpret. There may be a few small spots of retouching, including to the tree trunk on the far right, just above the buliding on the right, and to the tree on the far left. FRAME Held in an ornate painted plaster frame. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 5560you have any questions regarding the present work.
"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."

'In a career of thirty years Grimshaw built up a reputation as an artist who presented a vision of contemporary life which others chose to ignore. In his later years he appeared to be turning to new subjects presented in a different way with a lightness which may indicate a turning point.' (Alexander Robertson's introduction to an exhibition held by Richard Green, John Atkinson Grimshaw, 1989)

In Grimshaw's paintings he sought to depict the contrast of the man-made and the natural, opposing forces symbolic of the contrasts of the age of industrialisation when the natural world was tamed, restrained and confined like never before. There is also the contrast of the solidity of the built environment and the organic, unrestrained growth of the tree branches. In In Autumn's Golden Glow the notion of conclusion and decay is paramount, the end of the day when the sun sets, the end of the year as the trees are stripped of leaves and the end of the daily routine of the maid making her solitary way home carrying a basket. By flooding the scene with diffused pale golden light, Grimshaw celebrates the beauty of the close of day. By the 1880s Grimshaw's style was fully-formed and he was at the height of his artistic powers. Although he had widened the scope of his subjects, from the industrial clamour of his dock scenes and the bustling city streets of Liverpool, London and Leeds, the pictures that are perhaps the most evocative are the melancholic views of suburban roads lit by moonlight or the glowing light of the gloaming. Grimshaw clearly found the composition successful and worthy of further exploration and he continued to paint autumnal suburban street scenes almost until the end of his life. This last phase of Grimshaw's career was also a period of fervent artistic activity in which Grimshaw was still recovering from a not fully understood financial disaster that took place in 1879; family tradition suggests that Grimshaw had backed a considerable bill for a friend who defaulted. Grimshaw was forced to sell his large residence at Scarborough, the poetically named Castle-by-the-Sea and spent increasingly long periods away from home and his children. Despite the hardships he painted some of his most accomplished pictures which convey his ability to depict atmosphere with the aureate evening skies, the leafless, autumnal trees and only a solitary living presence, acting in perfect harmony to create the sense of stillness and calm at the time of the day when the sun is in its last phase. As the woman's daily chores are over and she returns home, the power of the sun in ebbing and the year is coming to a close. The cycle of life of the trees is in flux as they shed their leaves but the moss that grows in the margins of the road and the moss and lichens that swathe the stone walls, suggest the resilience of nature.

Unlike the pictures of the great cities of Britain and the fishing villages that Grimshaw painted, there are no landmarks in In Autumn's Golden Glow to place the exact location and the picture is therefore a more abstract summary of glorious light and autumnal splendour. The sense of mystery evoked by the appearance of the lonely road is further enhanced by the anonymity of the scene with the exact location withheld. The Victorians had a huge appetite for such romantic intrigue and it was a prevalent theme in the novels, plays and poetry of the age. Grimshaw himself was inspired by the writings of Wordsworth, Browning, Shelley and in particular Tennyson. Alexander Robertson sums up thus; 'A few lines from Tennyson's 'Enoch Arden' seem to demonstrate this most succinctly:

 

'The climbing street, the mill, the leafy lanes,
The peacock-yew tree and the lonely Hall,
The horse he drove, the boat he sold, the chill
November dawns and dewy glooming downs,
The gentle shower, the smell of dying leaves'