- 40
William Leech, R.H.A.
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- William Leech, R.H.A.
- In the Sunshine (Self-Portrait)
- signed l.r.: Leech; signed and inscribed with the artist's address on a label attached to stretcher
- oil on canvas
- 56 by 46cm., 22 by 18in.
- Painted in 1958.
Provenance
Gifted by the artist to Sydney Lough Thompson and thence by descent to the present owner
Exhibited
Dublin, Royal Hibernian Academy, 1959, no.2
Condition
Original canvas. There is some blooming visible in the jacket of the sitter, otherwise the work appears in good overall condition.
Ultraviolet light reveals no apparent signs of retouching.
Held under glass in a silver moulded plaster frame; unexamined out of 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
The present work relates closely to another self-portrait in the Ulster Museum collection. Both are painted when the artist was in his seventies, wearing his distinctive black hat. He is seated in the garden of his house, Candy Cottage, in Surrey, in front of his red brick studio which is illuminated in the background. A third self-portrait in the National Gallery of Ireland also from the period shows the artist in front of one of his Aloes series. As Dr Ferran noted of these portraits, 'they are overladen with introspection, as he gazes searchingly out of the canvas' (William John Leech, An Irish Painter Abroad, NGI, Dublin, 1996, p.288).
Sydney Lough Thompson (1877-1973) was a New Zealand artist who painted with Leech in France. His son Jan, to whom the painting passed, was educated and lived in England. He rented a house for Leech and May Botterell in Reading after Leech's studio was damaged in the Blitz and the two remained good friends.
We are grateful to Dr Denise Ferran for her kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work.