Lot 62
  • 62

Evelyn de Morgan

Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
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Description

  • Evelyn de Morgan
  • Tthe Vision, 1914
  • titled with a cartouche and signed with initials l.r.: 1914/ E de M.
  • oil on canvas
  • 61 by 79cm., 24 by 31in.

Provenance

Bought from St. Dunstans by Mrs Wilhelmina Stirling, the artist's sister, in 1919 for £5 and given to the De Morgan Foundation;
Sotheby's, 18 September 1970, lot 141a as Ceres, Proserpina and Pluto;
Whitford & Hughes, London, 1981;
William E. Wiltshire III, Richmond, Virginia;
Sotheby's, 28 November 1990, lot 44 as The Vision;
Sotheby's, 11 November 1998, lot 57;
Private collection

Exhibited

Edith Grove, Chelsea, British Red Cross Benefit Exhibition, 1916, no.2

Literature

Catherine Gordon (ed.), Evelyn de Morgan, Oil Paintings, 1996, pp.26, 82-83, cat. no. 88, illustrated pl.61

Condition

STRUCTURE The canvas appears to be on the original supporting wooden backboard and unlined. The paint surface appears to be clean and stable although there are areas of varnish deterioration and some characteristic craquelure, which appear mainly on the right hand half. ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT UV light reveals areas of very small spots of retouching in the sky around the sun and in the sea. There are further small areas to the left hand figures cheek and lower neck, and to the right hand figures chin, eyes and ear as well as two or three minor areas about the canvas. FRAME Held in a period style carved wood frame. Please telephone the department on 0207 293 5718 if you have any questions about 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."

Catalogue Note

According to the exhibition catalogue of 1916, The Vision, 1914 depicts an allegory of WWI; 'The threatening horror dawning on Peace and Purity'. A young maiden crowned with a golden band decorated with vines and holding sheaves of barley is acompanied by the figure of Peace robed in red with a wreath of olive leaves in her hair and over her shoulder. The leaves are being dislodged by the swirling gusts of wind stirred by the malevolent figure of a bat-winged bogie with flames in its hair, who represents the destruction of war. Despite the threat of war, the dawning sun calms the ocean and parts the cloud to suggest hope.

Evelyn de Morgan was inspired to paint several allegories of WWI, The Vision, 1914 being one of thirteen oil paintings sold for the benefit of the Red Cross in 1916, including The Search Light (private collection), The Red Cross (de Morgan Foundation), S.O.S. (de Morgan Foundation). The pictures were exhibited at a studio she had rented on Edith Grove in Chelsea.