Thomas Baines 1820-1875

STRUCTURE The work has been lined. PAINT SURFACE An attractive topographical landscape with some good remaining impasto to the rocks in the foreground. The work has a discoloured varnish layer and should clean well. ULTRAVIOLET Examination under ultraviolet light reveals an 'E' shaped damage to the centre left of the composition with associated repaint. There is further evidence of minor scattered re-touchings in the sky and in the mountains. FRAME Held in a later gilt wood frame.
"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."

Thomas Baines was born in Kings Lynn, where both his father and grandfather were master mariners. From an early age he showed talent as an artist but unemployment in Kings Lynn was high, and he was inspired by a meeting with William Roome, Captain of the Olivia and an inhabitant of Cape Town, to try to find work in that city. He left Gravesend on 8 August 1842 and spent the next five years in Cape Town working variously as a house painter and carriage maker.

Cape Town was by this date a flourishing city, but Baines soon grew tired of the restrictions of town life. With the encouragement of a music teacher, Frederick Logier, he went on a brief trip to Simons Town in 1847, and then in early 1848 he set off towards Transvaal. Unfortunately this ambitious trip never materialised and political disturbances forced him to stop first at Port Elizabeth, where he spent two weeks, and than at Grahamstown which he reached on 1st March.

The Eastern Cape town of Grahamstown was well known as the starting point for trips to the interior, and Baines was soon able to join William and George Liddle on their trading and hunting expedition.They left on 15 March, travelling first in a westerly direction into the Zuurberg where there was considerable wildlife (though game was not as plentiful as they had expected). They then travelled on to Colesberg and the Orange River, returning to Grahamstown in June. It was the first of many such journeys for Baines. It was also the first time he had ridden a horse, but he apparently learnt quickly and was able to fill his sketch books with details of the trip. He also recorded it in the journal which he had started on leaving Cape Town. This painting is one of the oils which he worked up from these sketches when he got back to Grahamstown.