Duncan Grant

Sale, Christie's South Kensington, 11th November 1993, lot 148 (as Cardinal and Attendants), where acquired by David Bowie

The canvas has been fully laid down onto board, with an unevenly cut edge, not wholly visible in the present frame. The upper part of the canvas undulates very slightly but the canvas otherwise appears sound. There is a very small fleck of loss to the white pigment between two purple elements to the centre above the lower edge, a very small fleck of loss to the lower part of the extreme right edge, and a further small spot of loss to the purple element in the lower right quadrant. There are some very fine lines of craquelure and reticulation to some of the thicker pigments and one or two of the tips of the thick impasto elements have been slightly flattened. There is some light surface dirt to the work. Subject to the above, the work appears to be in good overall condition. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals no obvious signs of fluorescence or retouching. The work is presented in a gilt carved wooden frame with a white painted rebate and held under glass. 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."

When David Bowie acquired this painting, it had been given the title Cardinal and Attendants. There is some visual justification for this and it would place it among several works by Grant from the 1930s, often swiftly painted, derived from a stage performance or something he had seen in Rome where he worked for three months in 1935. The present writer, however, is convinced that the subject is a decorated ceramic figure group standing on a grey shelf or table top which runs along the picture’s lower edge. It is almost certainly a nineteenth-century flatback  Staffordshire figure-group and the lyre that appears at lower left is seen in other ceramic ornaments of this type. Several Staffordshire figures are still in various rooms at the artist’s house, Charleston, and there is a painting by Grant listed in an inventory of works stored in the house, called ‘Staffordshire figures etc.’, although the dimensions given are good deal larger than the work here on offer. Such figures could be bought cheaply between the wars; as well as being the staple ornaments of a mantelshelf or dresser in, mostly, working-class homes and landladies’ parlours, they became popular with painters of the period who  savoured their ‘naïve’ craftsmanship, vivid colours and often amusing subjects. There are works by, among others, Mark Gertler, Dora Carrington, Charles Ginner and Roger Fry that include such figures.

Grant’s exuberant brushwork, high colour and lack of linear definition are not unusual in painting, particularly in the 1930s. A closely related work, in style at least, is Les Femmes Savantes (c.1933-34) in the Britten-Pears Foundation, Aldeburgh.

We are grateful to Richard Shone for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work.