Albert Joseph Moore, A.R.W.S.

Purchased from the Grosvenor Gallery exhibition in 1878 by Mr Metford Warner and with him until his death in 1930, thence by descent to his son Marcus Warner of Guildford with whom it remained until his death in 1954 when bequeathed to his nephew Roger Warner and loaned to the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, until 1989;
Shepherd Gallery, New York, 1989;
Sotheby's, London, 23 May 1990, lot 72;
Private collection, Japan

London, Grosvenor Gallery, 1878;
New York, Shepherd Gallery, English Romantic Art 1850-1920 – Pre-Raphaelites, Academics, Symbolists – Drawings, Watercolours, Graphics and Paintings, 1989, no.89

Robyn Asleson, Albert Moore, 2000, p.222;
Roger Warner, 'Starting Over' in Regional Furniture, Vol XVII, 2003, p.83

The board appears in sound and stable condition. There are minor areas of very fine craquelure to the dark green pigments in the figure's dress. The work may benefit from a light clean. Otherwise the work appears to be in good overall condition UV light inspection reveals what appears to be minor flecks of retouching to the figures face and neck and to her right arm. Held in the original gilt 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."

The Gilded Fan was exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery the same year as Garnets. The pose of the model and arrangement of her draperies was based upon two paintings with the title The End of the Story of 1877 (both in private collections). The toga is gossamer thin and reveals the nude body beneath, the pose and proportions of which owe a debt to classical sculpture. The pose and colouring are also similar to another picture painted in 1878, the large Birds (Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery), which was exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery that year.

'It was a reaction against the smoke-filled gloom of late Victorian London that Moore created an art of pure light and perfect clarity.'
Robyn Asleson, Albert Moore, 2000, p.149

 

The Gilded Fan is typical of Albert Moore's restrained and exquisite art which combined Oriental, Grecian and contemporary British elements. It was painted in the same year that Moore supported his friend James Whistler in his famous court case against the conservatism of John Ruskin, where they championed a new approach to painting. Moore and Whistler, along with artists like Rossetti, Burne-Jones, Solomon and Walter Crane were the leading exponents of the Aesthetic Movement in the 1860s and 1870s. Their aim was to create contrasts and symphonies of colour and pattern rather than present a narrative or emotional pathos. Their work was revolutionary and modern and marked an important step on the road towards Abstraction.