Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, O.M., R.A.

George Henry Boughton, London in 1881 (acquired as a gift from the artist)
Mrs. Boughton-Richards, New York by 1905 (by descent from the above, her father)
Silo Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, New York
Robert C. Hall (acquired from the above)
Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego
J.M. Sheedy, San Diego (acquired from the above)
Sale: Parke-Bernet, New York, February 27, 1947, lot 2
Findlay Gallery, New York (acquired at the above sale)
James Coats, New York (acquired by 1962)
Allen Funt (acquired from the above in 1967 and sold: Sotheby's, Belgravia, November 6, 1973, lot 17)
Thomas Agnew's and Sons Ltd., London (acquired at the above sale)
Sale: Christie's, London, November 7, 1997, lot 83, illustrated

London, Grosvenor Gallery, 1882, no. 61
London, Grosvenor Gallery, Winter 1882, no. 116
London, Grosvenor Gallery, 1883, no. 116 (lent by G.H. Boughton)
Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery, 14th Autumn Exhibition, 1884, no. 710
New York, Robert Isaacson Gallery, April-May 1962, no. 9
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Victorians in Togas: Paintings by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, March 1973, no. 17
Rotterdam Art Foundation, Ary Scheffer, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Charles Rochusen de Vergankelijkheid van de Roem, May 1974, no. 24

Athenaeum, May 6, 1882, no. 2845, p. 576
Times, May 8, 1882, p. 5
Carol Vosmaer and others, Alma-Tadema Catalogue Raisonné, unpublished manuscript, 1885, no. 264
The Year's Art, 1889, frontispiece (engraved by W. Biscomb Gardner)
Fedor Ill'ich Bulgakov, Alma-Tadema, 1897, p. 45, illustrated
Rudolf Dircks, 'The Later Works of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadama O.M. R.A., R.W.S.', Art Annual, Christmas 1910, p. 31
Mario Amaya, 'The Roman World of Alma-Tadema', Apollo, LXXVI, December, 1962, p. 774, illustrated
Christopher Forbes, Victorians in Togas: Paintings by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema from the Collection of Allen Funt, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973, pp. 21, 38, illustrated
Pieter Honderos, Ary Scheffer, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Charles Rochusen de Vergankelijkheid van de Roem, Rotterdam, 1974, p. 21, illustrated
Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Alma-Tadema, Rizzoli, 1977, pl. 22, illustrated
Vern G. Swanson, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, London, 1977, p. 41, illustrated
Vern G. Swanson, The Biography and Catalogue Raisonné of the paintings of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, London, 1990, p. 214, no. 267, illustrated p. 406

Since its first public exhibition at the 1882 Summer Exhibition at the Grosvenor Gallery, An Audience has elicited praise from its viewers.  F. G. Stephens, an art critic for the Athenaeum, appreciated its subtle qualities: "An Audience, three half figures of ladies in Roman costumes and admirably grouped in profile, is remarkable for the variety and characteristic earnestness of the expressions, and for the solidity, delicacy, and brilliancy of the coloration.  The rose tipped fingers and closely knit hands and long graceful arms are excellently drawn. The delicacy of the picture is enhanced by the sea-green and grey dresses and the pure bright illumination."

Vern Swanson, in his catalogue raisonné of the artist's work, records that Alma-Tadema gave this picture to his fellow artist, George Henry Boughton, whose family may be depicted therein. An Audience may represent one half of an artistic exchange for which Alma-Tadema received either Boughton's The Fair Equestrian or Priscilla, both of which resided in Alma-Tadema's collection.

In any case, on April 15th, 1882, Alma-Tadema retouched the picture, presumably to transform what had been an intimate family portrait painted for a friend into a polished picture suitable for exhibition in the Grosvenor Gallery.