George Price Boyce

Estimate

2,000 - 3,000 GBP

bidding is closed

Description

George Price Boyce
Valley of the Teme and Malvern Hills from the Neighbourhood of Worcester, Sunny November Morning
signed and dated l.l.: G. P. Boyce .Nov^r, 22.60.; inscribed and signed on an old label attached to the reverse: "Valley of the Teme & Malvern Hills/ from the neighbourhood of Worcester/ Sunny Nov^r. morning."/ George Boyce/ 14 Chatham Place/ Blackfriars.; further inscribed, signed and dated on the reverse of the mount with four sketches of dogs: From side of Ankerdine Hill between/ Worcester & Bromyard- Valley of the Teme/ GBoyce. Nov. 22.'60.; bears another inscription on the reverse of the mount by Dante Gabriel Rossetti: Dear Boyce/ Here is the sketch if you like to take it. I think/ when it is mounted there are one or two/ little things I shall do to it./ Excuse my going out but/ I expected you sooner/ & cannot help a slight/ constitutional walk before dining/ in this weather/ DGR
watercolour with scratching out, the original mount currently separate from the sheet
14 by 19cm., 5½ by 7½in.

Provenance

The artist's studio sale, Christie's London, 1 July 1897, lot 53, bought 'J. Parker' for £6/ 16s/6d;
Sotheby's London, 30 March 1994, lot 143;
Fine Art Society, London, June 1994

Condition

The sheet does not appear to be laid down, cockles slightly; otherwise appears in very good condition. Held in simple gilt frame under glass; unexamined out of frame. The original mount with sketches by Boyce and inscription by Rossetti is currently separate from the watercolour but the two could be united if wished.
"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

Within the present collection are a group of characteristic landscape sketches made by George Price Boyce in the 1860s (Lots 20-25), when he was closely associated with Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Boyce and Rossetti probably met in 1848 when Boyce decided to become a painter rather than an architect. Boyce’s architectural study had trained his eye to the detail of vernacular buildings, often painted in the Thames valley or the Welsh borders. He travelled widely and the encouragement of John Ruskin led to sketching trips to Venice and Switzerland. Financially successful, Boyce collected watercolours and drawings by Rossetti and possessed ‘…the necessary ingredients for friendship. Kind, tolerant, even-tempered, cultivated, with an almost self-effacing modesty; and while his consideration for others was singularly engaging, his readiness for larking and his vulnerability to the attractions of a pretty girl… made him, to one such as Rossetti, a very convivial companion.’ (Virginia Surtees (ed.), The Diaries of George Price Boyce, 1980, VII). From 1862 Boyce occupied Rossetti’s former rooms at 14 Chatham Place, where Rossetti drew an informal portrait of his friend painting while being embraced by the buxom model Fanny Cornforth – who was probably mistress to both of them at various times (Carlisle Museum and Art Gallery). He remained there until 1868 when Philip Webb built a new house for him a few hundred yards from Rossetti’s Chelsea home. Boyce continued to be a regular exhibitor at the Old Watercolour Society into the 1870s and 1880s until his health began to fade - he ceased to exhibit in 1891 and died in 1897.

Boyce painted this watercolour from Ankerdine Hill, looking south across the valley of the River Teme a few miles to the east of the Herefordshire market town of Bromyard. In the left-hand distance are the purple Malvern Hills shadowed by gathering rain-clouds. Views of the landscape of the Shropshire-Hereford borders are numerous throughout Boyce’s career as he often visited his relations in the Welsh Marches, including his maternal aunt and uncle who lived at Ashford south of Ludlow. At the winter exhibition of the Old Water-Colour Society in 1872-73 Boyce showed a group of views of the Theme Valley.

Boyce’s exuberant and humorous character is hinted at in this watercolour by the presence of his diminutive dog running along the edge of the hillside carrying the artist’s walking-stick in his mouth - of which there are four sketches on the mount of the watercolour. This picture does not appear to have been exhibited during the artist’s lifetime and remained in his collection until his death.

It seems that Boyce mounted the drawing on a piece of watercolour paper upon which his friend Dante Gabriel Rossetti had previously made a note to him regarding one of the many drawings that he gave to Boyce. The label on the reverse places Boyce at 14 Chatham Place, the rooms that had been occupied by Rossetti until his move to Chelsea in 1862 when Boyce moved in and stayed for the next six years.