Sir George Clausen, R.A., R.W.S., R.I.

Pyms Gallery, London, where purchased by the present owner

This picture is relined which is providing a stable structural support. There are a few areas of very fine craquelure to the girl's brow, nose, chin and neck, but this is only visible upon close inspection. Overall the work appears in good condition, ready to hang. UNDER ULTRAVIOLET LIGHTUltraviolet light reveals some retouching along the lower edge, and an area of flecked retouching in background to left of her head and another area above centre of her head. There is a horizontal line of flecked retouching running across the centre of the composition. A few further flecks to the face and elsewhere in the background. The signature appears dark and may have been added at a later date - however we believe this to have been done by the artist rather than another hand.FRAMEHeld in an attractive ornate gilt plaster 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."

This startlingly modern depiction of rustic femininity was painted in the late-1880s and is composed of the rhythms and juxtapositions of Clausen’s square-brush paint application at this time. It depicts a village girl named Polly Baldwin, whose face dominates a group of Clausen’s pictures following his move in 1885 from St Albans to Grove House at Cookham in Berkshire.

In later life Mary (Polly) Baldwin claimed to have been born in 1871, making her fifteen when she first met the Clausen family, but contemporary reports suggested that she was thirteen. In 1886 when Agnes Mary Clausen gave birth to her third child and needed a nursemaid, Polly was found in the local village at Cookham Dean. She was a widow’s daughter, the sixth of eight daughters from a household that welcomed the income from nursing work. With high cheekbones, chestnut-brown hair and bright green eyes her pretty good-looks made her suitable to model for George Clausen’s paintings and her mother was asked if she could pose for him when she was not needed to look after the children. Eventually she was more in demand as a model for Mr Clausen and Mrs Clausen had to employ another nurse to help. One of her earliest depictions was A Village Maiden (Christie’s, 4 June 2009, lot 30) a straight-forward depiction of youth with no artifice or sentimentality. In the same year she posed for a similar picture A Girl’s Head (Manchester City Art Gallery) dressed in the same simple white tunic. In 1887 she appeared in one of Clausen’s most celebrated pictures The Stone Pickers (Fig. 1, Laing Art Gallery, Tyne & Wear) and in 1889 she was painted as the main figure in the masterpiece The Girl at the Gate (Fig. 2, Tate). In these last two paintings Clausen’s work had taken on a melancholic tone, her figure being a symbol of toil and hardship. The pale blue dress indicated in the present picture is like the colouring in The Girl at the Gate and suggests a date around 1889 when she was eighteen. The far-away expression and pursed lips are very similar in both paintings and it is likely that the present picture was made when Clausen was working on the larger picture. It captures what George Moore described as ‘dimly foreseeing anguish not yet comprehensible, and wishful to be alone’

‘He [Clausen] has seldom painted anything more finely than these unsophisticated young country girls with their healthy pink faces glowing through their own shade.’ Cosmo Monkhouse, The Academy, 1885.