Talbot Hughes R.O.I., P.S.

Private European Collection
Acquired by the present owner in 2008

London, Fine Art Society, Catalogue of a Collection of Cabinet Pictures by Talbot Hughes, November, 1901

"Art Centres," The Artist, vol. 27-28, February-May, 1900, p. 57, illustrated p. 56
"Our Rising Artists: Talbot Hughes," The Magazine of Art, vol. 26, 1902, p. 4

This painting is not lined and has recently been cleaned. The colors are bright and fresh and the surface is even. There is a small ½ inch square patch on the back of the canvas. Under UV, there are small dots of inpainting on the extreme right of the canvas, as well as a dime sized circle just below the figure's left shoulder, corresponding to the patch on the reverse.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Talbot Hughes was the son of still-life artist William Hughes and the brother of landscape painter H. Hughes-Stanton.  Hughes lived in London and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1871 to 1903 with subjects ranging from genre paintings, to historical subjects, to allegorical works which depict the trials of romantic love such as Temptation (1899), The Road to Love (1900) and Echo.  As told in Book II of Ovid's Metamorphoses, the beautiful mountain nymph Echo spoke back the last words she heard.  In the present work, Hughes depicts Echo with her hand to ear, eyes focused, perhaps hoping to catch a sweet something from Narcissus, his namesake blooms surrounding her a sad reminder of her unrequited love. The Artist's critic considered Hughes's Echo "a Botticelli like figure of much grace and beauty" while another applauded the artists' overall "dexterity of hand, the extraordinary felicity with which he renders... different surfaces of stuffs" (The Artist, p. 56; Dixon, p. 2). The artist's masterful handling of paint is particularly evident in Echo's costume with its complicated embroideries of stylized hearts and narcissuses.  

Such detail was likely informed by the artist's impressive collection of English historical costumes dating from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries which were sold to Harrod's and then donated by them to the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, significantly expanding their textile collection. Hughes was also a connoisseur of portrait miniatures and over 400 examples were acquired by the Rosenbach Company of New York and Philadelphia in the 1920s. This overall interest in design suggests that he very likely designed the work's period frame, the title carved at lower center, and the stylized floral motif echoing the themes of the painting.