Lot 786
  • 786

Edward Hughes

Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 USD
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Description

  • Edward Hughes
  • An English Artist Collecting Costumes in Brittany
  • signed Edward Hughes and dated 1862. (lower left) 
  • oil on canvas 
  • 34 by 48 1/4 in.
  • 86.4 by 122.6 cm

Provenance

Schillay & Rehs, Inc., New York (according to a label on the reverse) 
Sale: Christie's, New York, May 6, 1999, lot 96, illustrated 
Acquired at the above sale

Exhibited

London, Royal Academy, 1862, no. 561 

Literature

The Art Journal, 1862
Algernon Graves, The Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1906, vol. II, p. 184 
Pamela Gerrish Nunn, "A Woman Abroad: Emma Brownlow in Brittany," Women, Femininity and Public Space in European Visual Culture 1789-1914, Farnham, 2014, p. 89

Condition

Lined. The surface presents very well overall and is clean and fresh. The colors remain vibrant. There are some scattered small areas of barely perceptible craquelure and two very minor dots of accretion near the upper edge. Under UV: varnish fluoresces green. There are a few isolated fine retouches in the composition, including an area of retouching underneath the gendarme's proper left elbow. Fine retouches and inpainting to address prior frame abrasion are scattered at and near the 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

The present work depicts a market scene in Brittany, where an English artist, pictured here with a black purse, is collecting clothing from the local townspeople. Given the nineteenth-century infatuation with Brittany and its culture, untouched by major modernization of the era, it is credible that artists would have sought to acquire real contemporary clothing from that region to study in order to give their scenes of Brittany an air of authenticity. It was a common custom for artists to obtain used clothing by exchange.