- 106
Frederick Arthur Bridgman
Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Frederick Arthur Bridgman
- Dans le souk. Alger
- signed F. A. Bridgman lower left
- oil on canvas
- 73 by 105cm., 28¾ by 41¼in.
Provenance
Purchased by the family of the previous owner in Australia circa 1935
Exhibited
St. Louis, Louisiana Purchase Exhibition, 1904 (as Caballeros en Plaza)
Paris, Salon des Artistes français, 1904, no. 267 (as Caballeros en Plaza)
Paris, Salon de la Société des Artistes français, 1928, no. 297, illustrated in the catalogue
Paris, Salon des Artistes français, 1904, no. 267 (as Caballeros en Plaza)
Paris, Salon de la Société des Artistes français, 1928, no. 297, illustrated in the catalogue
Condition
The canvas has not been lined. Ultraviolet light reveals some very minor pinhead-sized spots of retouching chiefly in the rump of the horse, in the upper-left corner in the sky, and some other minor clusters in the ground and background and some strokes near the lower part of the right framing edge. This work is in very good condition, clean, fresh and ready to hang.
Held in a decorative gilt 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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
Ever since his first visit to North Africa in 1872, Algiers captivated Bridgman's imagination, and became his favourite destination during his travels in the region. During the 1880s he even put up his wife and family in the Hôtel de l'Orient in the Mustapha Supérieur quarter, and hired a guide, Belkassem, to find him an entréeinto private houses in which, and from which, to watch and paint daily life. From Algiers he wrote home: 'Here we have all the advantages of civilisation with quite enough in the picture line for anybody.
Bridgman received his training in the studio of the French academic and Orientalist painter Jean-Léon Gérôme. However, his later works such as the present display a freer technique, featuring more light and intense colour. In 1899 a critic wrote: 'Mr. Bridgman now paints with a freer, juicier brush than he used some years ago, he has got almost entirely away from Gérôme, his is no longer photographic, his colour [...] is often more ingeniously applied, and like so many of his fellows he is aiming for decorative effect' ('Gallery and Studio: Frederick A. Bridgman's Recent Pictures', Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 22 January 1899, p. 28, quoted in Ilene Susan Fort, Frederick Arthur Bridgman and the American Fascination with the Exotic Near East, vols. I and II, Ph.D. diss., City University of New York, 1990, p. 429).
Bridgman received his training in the studio of the French academic and Orientalist painter Jean-Léon Gérôme. However, his later works such as the present display a freer technique, featuring more light and intense colour. In 1899 a critic wrote: 'Mr. Bridgman now paints with a freer, juicier brush than he used some years ago, he has got almost entirely away from Gérôme, his is no longer photographic, his colour [...] is often more ingeniously applied, and like so many of his fellows he is aiming for decorative effect' ('Gallery and Studio: Frederick A. Bridgman's Recent Pictures', Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 22 January 1899, p. 28, quoted in Ilene Susan Fort, Frederick Arthur Bridgman and the American Fascination with the Exotic Near East, vols. I and II, Ph.D. diss., City University of New York, 1990, p. 429).