Lot 446
  • 446

ROBERT CARRICK | Weary Life

Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Robert Carrick
  • Weary LifeĀ 
  • signed R. Carrick (lower right)
  • oil on canvas
  • 40 by 32 in.
  • 101 by 82 cm

Provenance

Vokins, London
W.J. Thompson
Sale: Christie's, London, January 24, 1913, lot 92
Lister (acquired at the above sale) 
Sale: Christie's, New York, May 21, 1986, lot 198, illustrated (with the artist's last name spelled incorrectly)
The Forbes Collection, London (acquired at the above sale and sold, their sale, Christie's, London, February 20, 2003, lot 55, illustrated)
Acquired at the above sale 

Exhibited

London, Royal Academy, 1858, no. 300
Charlotte, North Carolina, Mint Museum of Art; Nashville, Cheekwood Museum of Art; Wilmington, Delaware Art Museum; Tampa Art Museum; New York, Forbes Magazine Galleries, The Defining Moment: Victorian Narrative Paintings from the Forbes Magazine Collection, January 15, 2000-June 30, 2001, no. 7 

Literature

Illustrated London News, May 22, 1858, p. 518
Art Journal, 1858, p. 166
The Spectator, London, May 29, 1858, p. 580
E.T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn, eds., The Works of John Ruskin, London, 1904, pp. xxiv, xxv, 164, no. 300
John Ruskin and Sir Edward Tyas Cook, Academy Notes vol. II: Ruskin on Pictures: A Collection of Criticisms by John Ruskin not heretofore Re-printed and now Re-edited and Re-arranged, London, 1902, p. 139 
Christopher Wood, Dictionary of Victorian Painters, Woodbridge, 1995, vol. II, p. 91

Condition

Lined. The work presents well. There are areas of fine craquelure consistent with a picture of this age and a faint horizontal stretcher bar mark across the top of the picture. Frame abrasion is visible along the right edge. The paint surface appears stable. Under UV: there are infillings to areas of craquelure and there are other small areas of retouching (one close to the foot of the male figure which may be to a small hole).
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

John Ruskin described Weary Life as "A notable picture; very great in many respects" (Academy Notes, 1858, p. 139). In it, a young farm girl has found an exhausted, itinerant entertainer and his daughter sleeping beneath a haystack. He is dressed in an exotic costume and has various curious items protruding from his sack of possessions, including playing-cards and a tambourine, while another tambourine (presumably the girl's) lies beside the weary pair.