Lot 67
  • 67

WILLIAM ROBINSON LEIGH | Parting Pals

Estimate
150,000 - 250,000 USD
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Description

  • William Robinson Leigh
  • Parting Pals
  • signed W.R. LEIGH. (lower right)
  • oil on canvas
  • 30 1/4 by 25 1/8 inches
  • (76.8 by 63.8 cm)

Provenance

Addison Rowe Gallery, LLC, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Mongerson Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Paul Butler, circa 1975 (acquired from the above) 
By descent to the present owner   

Condition

The canvas is unlined and there appears to be minor frame abrasion along the extreme edges. There is minor scattered surface cracking and stretcher bar marks are faintly visible. The work appears slightly dirty. Under UV: there appears to a horizontal line of inpainting in the background at upper right and a vertical line of inpainting likely to address a visible stretcher bar mark along the right edge near the figure's elbow. Although some other pigments fluoresce, they appear to be the artist's original work.
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

Following training at the Maryland Institute in Baltimore and the Royal Academy in Munich, William Robinson Leigh settled in New York in 1896, where he began his career as an an illustrator for Scribner’s and Collier’s Weekly. In 1906, at the age of 40, he achieved his life-long dream of traveling west when he was awarded a free ticket on the Santa Fe Railroad in exchange for painting a scene of the Grand Canyon. While on this journey, he visited the villages of the Acoma and Zuni Indians and met contemporary painter Joseph Henry Sharp in Taos, New Mexico before ultimately reaching the Grand Canyon. Albeit a short adventure, it was a profound experience that had an enduring effect on his life. His field of vision became solidly entrenched in the American frontier and it was a commitment that would bring him back more than twenty-five times after that first enchanting encounter.

Leigh found popular success with his animated depictions of the vivid landscape and thrilling energy of western life. Parting Pals is an exciting glimpse of a cowboy tossed backwards from his bucking steed. The spasms of the horse’s legs as it clenches at its bit and the cowboy’s stirrups flying mid-air give the painting a palpable sense of energy. Leigh’s mastery of theatrical dynamism through a single image, which he perfected early in his illustration career, is fully displayed in the present work. Parting Pals showcases his capacity for dramatic story-telling and his ability to capture the unique charm of life in the American West.