- 53
Frederick Brown
Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 USD
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Description
- Frederick Brown
- Candidates for Girton
- signed Fred Brown and dated 1884 (lower right)
- oil on canvas
- 28 1/4 by 42 1/4 in.
- 71.8 by 107.3 cm
Provenance
Collection of Jacqueline Melville, New York (by 1950)
Thence by descent
Thence by descent
Exhibited
London, The Royal Academy, 1884, no. 168
Condition
This painting is not lined, and the canvas has slackened. There is some crackling in the dark areas of paint, minor losses along the bottom edge of the painting, and a narrow 1" vertical tear to the right of center (visible in the catalogue image). Overall, this painting appears to be in original, untouched condition.
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.
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.
Catalogue Note
Frederick Brown was born in Chelmsford and studied at the Royal College of Art between 1868 and 1877 and in Paris in the ateliers of Robert-Fleury and William Bouguereau in 1883. He became a talented painter of landscape and genre paintings and was a successful art teacher, first at the Westminster School of Art and later as a professor at the Slade School from 1892 to 1918.
Brown began to exhibit at the Royal Academy from 1879 with A Merry Maiden and Rigging the Boat, and then Waiting for the Boat (sold, Sotheby's, London, November 25, 2004, lot 303) and Going Out at the Royal Academy exhibition of 1880. Candidates for Girton was exhibited in 1884, the year it was painted and shortly after Brown's move to Park Lodge on Church Street. Brown was a resident of Chelsea in its most lively period in the 1870s and 1880s when Dante Gabriel Rossetti and George Elliot lived in grand houses on Cheyne Walk and Thomas Carlyle could often be found strolling the streets on his evening walk. The painting likely depicts some of his young neighbors acting out the roles of student and teacher, and it is said that the seated woman is a portrait of the artist's sister.
The 1860s saw a movement that championed improved opportunities for women's education, and Girton College was established in the 1870s as the first women's college in England.
Brown began to exhibit at the Royal Academy from 1879 with A Merry Maiden and Rigging the Boat, and then Waiting for the Boat (sold, Sotheby's, London, November 25, 2004, lot 303) and Going Out at the Royal Academy exhibition of 1880. Candidates for Girton was exhibited in 1884, the year it was painted and shortly after Brown's move to Park Lodge on Church Street. Brown was a resident of Chelsea in its most lively period in the 1870s and 1880s when Dante Gabriel Rossetti and George Elliot lived in grand houses on Cheyne Walk and Thomas Carlyle could often be found strolling the streets on his evening walk. The painting likely depicts some of his young neighbors acting out the roles of student and teacher, and it is said that the seated woman is a portrait of the artist's sister.
The 1860s saw a movement that championed improved opportunities for women's education, and Girton College was established in the 1870s as the first women's college in England.