S otheby's London is pleased to present the 19th & 20th Century European and British Art Auction, showcasing the breadth of artistic creativity across Britain and mainland Europe.
The auction is led by a Aesthetic masterpiece Sisters by Lord, Frederic Leighton and an important Symbolist work by William Degouve de Nuncques, not seen on the market for over forty five years. Other highlights include a newly discovered work by Spanish artist Joaquín Sorolla, capturing the innocence of childhood on his beloved beach at Valencia, paintings by Alfred Munnings, Gustave Moreau, Helene Schjerfbeck, Edward Poynter, Lucy Kemp-Welch and Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky.
Comprising nineteen works by notable Dutch, German, American and Russian painters, Sotheby’s is honoured to have been entrusted with the sale of a collection that is both testimony to a singular collecting passion, as well as representing a significant contribution to the appreciation of European Romanticism. Guided by the underlying theme of Romanticism, both the exquisite quality of each work and the scope are outstanding, encompassing works by Ivan Konstantinovich Aivasovsky, Friedrich Nerly, Cornelis Springer, Barend Cornelis Koekkoek, Andreas Schelfhout and Daniel Ridgway Knight.
Highlights among the vedute are the magnificent Venice panoramas by Aivazovsky (lot 46 Old Master & 19th Century Evening sale 1 July) and Nerly (lot 45 Old Master & 19th Century Evening sale, 1 July), as well as two large-scale townscapes by Cornelis Springer (lots 544 and 547 19th Century European & British paintings sale, 2 July). Among the landscapes, paintings by Barend Cornelis Koekkoek, Andreas Schelfhout and Kasparus Karsten stand out (lots 543, 554, 552 and 553 19th Century European & British paintings sale, 2 July), whilst the washerwomen by a river by Daniel Ridgway Knight is the highlight of the figurative works (lot 549 19th Century European & British paintings sale, 2 July).
