Lot 275
  • 275

Jan Wyck

Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 USD
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Description

  • Jan Wyck
  • A boating scene with a royal yacht, possibly the Katherine
  • oil on canvas

Provenance

Lady Thompson (according to a label on the reverse). 

Condition

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work has not been restored for many years. The canvas has an old English glue lining, but the lining should be re-examined as there is visible cracking and instability. Under ultraviolet light, a fairly large restoration is visible in the center of the right side in the sky; this appears to address a break in the canvas and measures about 2 by 3 inches. Further to the right, about 2 ½ inches from the right edge, there is a vertical break in the canvas measuring about 6 inches that also requires structural adjustment. If and when the picture is cleaned, it will become more apparent that the profiles of the trees against the sky have been abraded and some of the rigging in the vessels is also weak. The details in the foreground of the figures and architecture on the left seem to be well preserved. Retouches would be required if the work were cleaned and the lining re-examined, but the painting would improve noticeably.
"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."

Catalogue Note

The royal yacht found at left may depict the Katherine, built for Charles II at Deptford in 1661. It weighed 94 tons, and measured 49 feet on the keel and 19 feet in the beam. It mounted eight 3-pdr guns usually in a 4 x 4 allignment in the center ports of the 9 wreathed ports that she had on each broadside (see T. Dalton, British Royal Yachts: a complete illustrated history, Tiverton, UK 2002, pp. 22-23).