David Jones, C.H.

Redfern Gallery, London
Piccadilly Gallery, London, where acquired by the present owner, January 1971

The sheet is not laid down, but is adhered to the mount via a strip along the top edge. There is cockling throughout with very slight deckling to the right hand edge. There is a very slight, minor crease to the bottom left hand corner, not visible in the present mount, and a possible, old, repaired tear to the top edge, approximately 7 in. from the left hand corner. This excepting the work appears to be in excellent original condition, with bright, vivid colours throughout. Housed behind glass in a thin, gilt frame. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"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."

We are grateful to Thomas Dilworth, author of the forthcoming biography of David Jones, to be published by Jonathan Cape, for his kind assistance in cataloguing the present work. 

In 1938, shrinkage of Helen Sutherland’s fortune during the depression and rising taxes forced her to leave Rock and, drawn by love of Wordsworth, move to the Lake District. She now lived in an expanded and modernized farmhouse in the hamlet of High Row in Matterdale, above the village of Dockray. Visiting him in mid-summer and distressed at his undernourished state and sadness, she invited Jones to return with her to Cumberland. Except for trips to Pigotts, he had not left London for five years. His agoraphobia was worse, and he now found ‘moving about …abnormally’ upsetting: ‘Things seem to more or less hang together if you stay put—but when you move, vests pinned to-gether with safety pins & trousers tied with string …—all that kind of thing is a nightmare.’ He nevertheless agreed to go. In the first week of August 1946, he set out in a taxi with his large heavy trunk, dreading the crowds at Euston Station, which he was relieved to find uncrowded and with plenty of porters. Meeting him there, Helen silently observed that his trousers were held up at the waist by safety pins. They had a carriage to themselves—to his great relief—as far as Crewe. Mills met them at Penrith and drove them along Ullswater, a long lake banked by steep mountains. He thought it looked ‘alright—but a little bit beauty-spotish’ and ‘Swiss.’ He liked the village of Dockray better, ‘with a fast beck running through it & solid stone houses & a real feeling about it.’

Thomas Dilworth