Arthur John Elsley

Terry Parker, Golden Hours: The Paintings of Arthur J. Elsley 1860-1952, Somerset, 1998, p. 119, illustrated

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This painting has recently been restored and should be hung in its current state. The canvas is unlined and certainly does not need to be lined. The paint layer is clean. Elsley's work quite often receives retouching, but in this particular case, there are hardly any retouches except for a few small spots above one of the baby lambs in the upper center. While there may be a couple of other restorations that are not apparent, the condition is certainly extremely good.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The Joy of Spring reveals all the best and most memorable aspects of Elsley's work.  Around 1900, the artist began a series of large-scale compositions, such as Spring Songs of 1902 (sold in these rooms, October 24, 2006 for $1,136,000) notable in the complex arrangement of multiple figures, both human and animal.  Similarly, in the present work three children are shown dressed lightly for the first warm days of the season, the eldest making a chain from gathered daffodils and other spring flowers, while her companions extend their hands to a lamb joining them in the shadow of a great tree with mossy trunk.  Elsley created such charming works by the use of preparatory oil sketches in addition to photographs of child and pet models (who often would not sit long enough for study).  He would sometimes incorporate elements of landscape painting done en plein air to join seamlessly with the studio-created portraits (Parker, p. 11).  These various components combine to create a cohesive vision of gleeful childhood, where the simple pleasures of a sunny day spent outdoors are matched by the happy greeting of a scampering lamb.

As Terry Parker suggests, The Joy of Spring is a sequel of sorts to Elsley's Rescued also dated 1911 (present location unknown, fig. 1) in which a shepherd brings a new-born lamb in from the wintery cold to the welcome of three happy children and a warm fire (Parker, p. 119).  In the present work the little lamb has grown and has been returned to the flock, yet in wandering away to greet the children it seems to remember their kindness of seasons past.