Lot 11
  • 11

George Frederick Watts

Estimate
15,000 - 20,000 USD
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Description

  • George Frederick Watts
  • Undine
  • oil on panel
  • 24 1/4 by 23 3/4 in.
  • 61.6 by 60.3 cm

Provenance

Charles Hilditch Rickards, Manchester (by 1868) 
Kojiro Matsukata Collection, Tokyo
Acquired by the present owner circa 1970

Exhibited

Leeds, United Kingdom, National Exhibition of Works of Art, 1868, no. 1388 (lent by Charles Hilditch Rickards)
Kyoto City Museum, Western Masterpiece Exhibition, February 1 - March 24, 1957
Tokyo, Nihonbashi Shirokiya, April 9 - 28, 1957, no. 65 

Literature

"Matsukata collection," Art of Modern, Tokyo, January 1, 1961, no. 93

Condition

On a stable panel. Finely patterned, stable craquelure on the figure's cheeks. Minor frame abrasion at the extreme upper center edge. Under UV: the varnish fluoresces green. A few small dots and dashes of inpainting are visible in the background and the subject's hair and there are a few pinpoint dots on her face. There is a vertical 1 1/2 inch line of inpainting on her proper left hand. Areas of inpainting to address prior frame abrasion are visible along all four extreme edges.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

With their origins tracing back to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, undines and naiads were popular subjects in nineteenth-century literature and performance art, and in their compositions artists such as George Frederick Watts and John William Waterhouse imagined them as young women with flowing, golden hair. The present work was formerly in the collection of Charles Hilditch Rickards, a wealthy Manchester merchant and Watts’ single greatest patron. Personally owning fifty-six works, Rickards was highly influential in Watts’ promotion and success, arranging for his paintings to be exhibited in London, Manchester, and Leeds.