- 51
BAIRNSFATHER, 'PRESIDENT OF THOSE TRIBUNALS', INK AND MONOCHROME WATERCOLOUR, 1917
Estimate
1,000 - 1,500 GBP
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Description
- Bruce Bairnsfather
- If Only They’d Make ‘Old Bill’ President of Those Tribunals('Well what's your job me lad?' | 'Making spots for rocking horses, Sir' | 'Three months' | 'Exemption, Sir?' | 'Nao! Exemption be ---d, Three months hard')
- paper
375 by 267mm., pen, ink and monochrome watercolour with bodycolour, signed and inscribed with title, mounted, framed and glazed
Provenance
EXHIBITED: 'Images of Power: From the Jeffrey Archer Cartoon Collection', Monnow Valley Arts, 3 September - 30 October 2011
Literature
The Bystander’s Fragments from France, Number Four, 1917, page 13
Condition
Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
'Old Bill' was the creation of Bruce Bairnsfather, who served as a Captain on the Western Front from early in the war and, in 1916, was promoted to the unique position of Officer Cartoonist, attached to the Intelligence Department. The character, action and environment of Old Bill were based on his creator’s direct experiences of the war, so giving him the sense of a real individual. Yet as he developed, he took on an archetypal aspect, and came to represent an entire group, even an entire class: the army private drawn substantially from the working classes.