Lot 102
  • 102

Thomas Gainsborough, R.A.

Estimate
18,000 - 22,000 USD
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Description

  • Thomas Gainsborough, R.A.
  • Track through Sandy Hills with trees
  • Black chalk;
    inscribed lower right in ink with initials: TG

Provenance

With Somerville and Simpson Ltd., London, by 1988,
exhibited at Bernheimer, Exhibition of Watercolours, Drawings & Paintings, 1988, no. 8;sold to a private collector;
with Spink-Leger, London, by 1998;
from whom acquired by the present owners 

Exhibited

London, Stephen Somerville Ltd. at Bernheimer, Exhibition of Watercolours, Drawings & Paintings, 1988, no. 8;
London, Spink-Leger Pictures, Annual Exhibition of Watercolours and Drawings, 1998, no. 1

Literature

H. Belsey, ‘A Second Supplement to John Hayes’s “The Drawings of Thomas Gainsborough”’, Master Drawings, XLVI (4), Winter 2008, pp. 466–67, no. 1005

Condition

This drawing has been well preserved. The black chalk is bold and not rubbed. A slight time stain is visible on close inspection.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

This drawing is one of five large sheets by Thomas Gainsborough that were discovered in the 1980s. Their ambition and scale is rare amongst Gainsborough’s early landscape drawings and they show his extraordinary skill in building up the lilting lines of a landscape by leaving bare patches of paper and by a tonal use of black chalk. John Hayes dated the drawings to 1749-50 but this group of drawings is perhaps marginally earlier. A date of 1748 seems very likely. We are grateful to Hugh Belsey, M.B.E. for his help when cataloguing this work.