Sir Matthew Smith

Private Collection, U.K., from whom acquired by the present owners in the 1990s

Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles, 12 British Painters, October - November 1948, cat. no.46, and touring to Dusseldorf, Kunstammlungen Der Stadt, Hamburg, Kunsthalle, Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Luxembourg, Musee de l'Etat;
London, Arthur Tooth and Sons, Homage to Sir Matthew Smith, February - March 1960, cat. no.18, illustrated in the catalogue;
London, Royal Academy, Sir Matthew Smith Exhibition, 1960, cat. no.230.

Original canvas. There is some very minor surface dirt otherwise in excellent original condition with strong passages of impasto throughout. Under ultraviolet light, there is a minor speck of retouching to the left of the cream beaker in the bottom left corner and some very small specks beneath it and also a small spot of retouching below the green saucer on the right of the composition. Held in a painted plaster frame. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 5381 if you have any queries regarding this picture.
"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.
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Painted in 1944.

The title refers to Fryern Court, the Hampshire home of Smith's old friend Augustus John, and thus suggests that the present work was painted during Smith's stay from August to October 1944. Mary Keene was already staying there from May 1944 to escape the London bombing, and the invitation appears to have been prompted by her. During this period both Smith and John painted portraits of each other, and although Smith's painting of his friend (Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh) seems to have been considered superior, with characteristic diffidence, Smith commented 'but then think of the model I had and the model he had' (Malcolm Yorke, Matthew Smith: His Life and Reputation, Faber & Faber, London 1997, p.185).

We are grateful to John Gledhill for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of this lot.