William Gale

Purchased from Christopher Cole Fine Paintings, Beaconsfield in 1987 by the father-in-law of the present owner

Royal Academy, London, 1858, no.54 as The Sorrowful Days of Evangeline “Over Evangeline’s face, at the words of Basil, a shade passed, etc.”

James Dafforne, The Art-Journal, Vol. XXXI, 1869, p.375

In later life William Gale painted a series of sentimental paintings of Oriental odalisques, scenes from the Old Testament and 'Keepsake' beauties, but in his youth he produced some superb pictures in the Pre-Raphaelite style, including The Wounded Knight an illustration to Spenser's 'Fairie Queene' of 1853 (collection of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber), The Confidant of 1857 (Tate) and Evensong (Christie's, London, 9 March 2005, lot 265) - all of which demonstrate a strong influence from the work of Millais.

The dimensions of this exquisitely painted panel are identical to a picture now known as Gabriel’s Evangeline (Atkinson Art Gallery, Southport). In both pictures, the female figure is wearing the same clothing and appears to have been painted from the same model. We can be almost certain that the picture at Southport is the one exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1858 as The Happy Days of Evangeline whilst the present picture is its pair The Sorrowful Days of Evangeline. Both pictures illustrate scenes from the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic tale ‘Evangeline – A Tale of Arcadia’ first published in 1847. The scene of the present picture is in the garden of Basil the blacksmith where the heroine Evangeline asks after her lover Gabriel, from whom she has been parted. ‘There in an arbor of roses’ Basil tells Evangeline that Gabriel is not there as she had hoped and she is gripped with fear that something terrible has befallen her beloved;

‘Over Evangeline's face at the words of Basil a shade passed.

Tears came into her eyes, and she said, with a tremulous accent,

"Gone? is Gabriel gone?" and, concealing her face on his shoulder,

All her o'erburdened heart gave way, and she wept and lamented.’

Basil reassures Evangeline that Gabriel had only departed from him a day earlier and is safe and well – the lovers are eventually re-united.

Two years before Gale painted the scenes from Evangeline he painted another North American subject, The Captured Runaway (sold in these rooms, 17 March 1999, lot 61). It is not believed that he went to America but he was clearly interested in subjects of the early settlers there. He also seems to have been interested at that time in subjects of displaced people and in 1857, the year before the Evangeline pictures, he painted The Exile depicting a French refugee sheltering in a small room and reading ominous news in La Presse newspaper. Of this picture James Dafforne wrote in his assessment of Gale's work; '... might be owned by Meissonier without compromising his almost unrivalled talents. It would only be repeating the above remarks were we to comment upon the three cabinet-pictures sent by Mr. Gale to the Academy in 1858: The Sorrowful Days of Evangeline, The Happy Days of Evangeline , a pair; and Two Lovers whispering by an Orchard-wall : all of them perfect gems of Art.' (James Dafforne, The Art-Journal, Vol. XXXI, 1869, p. 375)