- 20
Walter Crane
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Walter Crane
- Cupid's Arrow
- watercolor, paper, canvas
signed by the artist with his familiar crane monogram and dated
watercolor painting
14 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches
(368 x 368 mm)
Executed in 1885
watercolor painting
14 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches
(368 x 368 mm)
Executed in 1885
Condition
Matted with silk boards, framed and glazed. Not examined out of frame.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.
Catalogue Note
A lovely painting by this important Victorian children’s book artist, probably intended as a Valentine or marriage gift. The medium is very delicate, and would have taken considerable skill.
This painting was exhibited in the Summer Exhibition at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1886. It was reproduced (in a simplified version) on the title-page of the catalogue of that exhibition, Grosvenor Notes 1886 (edited by Henry Blackburn) published by Chatto & Windus, May 1886, in which it is listed as “A Naughty Little Boy with Boy and Arrow” (#267).
This exhibition was reviewed by George Bernard Shaw, where he refers to our painting in passing: "Mr. Walter Crane’s Cupid apparently painted on a handkerchief." (See "In the Picture-Galleries, The Grosvenor [Second Notice]" in The World, May 12, 1886).