Lot 202
  • 202

Richard Parkes Bonington

Estimate
35,000 - 45,000 USD
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Description

  • Richard Parkes Bonington
  • Shipping Becalmed off Dunkerque
  • Watercolor over pencil heightened with scratching out;
    signed lower right: R P Bonington
  • 190 by 268 mm

Provenance

Andrew T. Reid of Auchterarder, Perthshire (1863-1940);
sale, London, Christie's, 27 March 1942, lot 24, bt. The Fine Arts Society;
with The Fine Arts Society, London;
Mrs Thelman Cazalet-Keir, C.B.E. (1899-1989);
her sale, London, Christie's, 5 June 1973, lot 120, bt. Colnaghi;
with P. & D. Colnaghi's, London, until 1979

Exhibited

Nottingham, Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Richard Parkes Bonington, 1965, no. 231;
P. & D. Colnaghi, Exhibition of English Drawings and Watercolours, 1978, no. 30

Literature

James Caw, The Collection of Pictures Formed by Andrew T. Reid of Auchterarder, Glasgow 1933, p. 16;
P. Noon, Richard Parkes Bonington, The Complete Paintings, New Haven 2008, no. 117

Condition

Window mounted. There is some very slight discoloration to the sheet and a few minor areas of foxing in the clouds and sky. The watercolour medium is fresh and vibrant throughout.
"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

This watercolor has been dated to 1824, a period in which Bonington spent much time living in Dunkerque, and that he later described as ‘the happiest year of (his) life.’Having lived in hectic Paris since 1818, he seems to have flourished in the atmosphere of the port which had been untouched by industrialisation at that date.  Through François Louis Thomas Francia (1772-1839), his drawings master, he had been introduced to the town’s mayor Benjamin Morel (1781-1860). The mayor was an enthusiastic collector with whom Bonington became friends. He also much enjoyed lodging with Madame Perrier and her daughters on the Quai de Furnes. He wrote to a friend that from the house it was possible to see the harbour, and beyond that, the ‘fine ships on the horizon’.2

This very fine watercolor, with its combination of detail, clarity of light and sense of space, perhaps goes some way to demonstrating why Bonington is considered to have achieved so much in his tragically short life.  It was once owned by the celebrated collector Andrew Reid. He lived at Auchterarder House in Perthshire and during the first quarter of the 20th Century formed a significant collection of paintings and prints, which included works by, amongst many others, Ramsey, Reynolds and Gainsborough.

1. M. Cormack, Bonington, Oxford 1989, p. 64
2. P. Noon, op.cit., p. 63