Lot 255
  • 255

JULIAN TREVELYAN, R.A. | London Scene

Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 GBP
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Description

  • Julian Trevelyan
  • London Scene
  • signed and dated Trevelyan '35 (lower right); also signed Trevelyan and inscribed with Artist's address on the reverse
  • oil on canvas
  • 65 by 81.5cm., 25¾ by 32in.

Condition

The canvas is unlined. There are very fine lines of craquelure scattered throughout the canvas. There is adhesive tape at the extreme edges of the canvas, where the work has been stretched around the support. There are some flattened impasto tips. There is a small pressure mark in the lower left quadrant. There is very light surface dirt in places and evidence of studio matter throughout, with a possible discoloured varnish. This excepting the work appears to be in very good overall condition. The work is held behind glass within a simple painted wooden frame. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present 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. 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

In 1935, Trevelyan joined the English Surrealist Group, showing his work in the International Surrealist Exhibition in London the following year. Fascinated by urban life, Trevelyan's main concern in his work was the construction of a new collective myth of the city, a theme he explored further in his involvement with the Mass Observation movement. He 'had invented a sort of mythology of cities, of fragile structures carrying here and there a few waif-like inhabitants'. (Julian Trevelyan, Indigo Days: The Art and Memoirs of Julian Trevelyan, London, 1957, p.66). In 1937, Trevelyan would write about an imaginary ‘world city’ that constituted his understanding of life: ‘Mingling in its streets and among its labyrinthine galleries are the mass desires of its innumerable inhabitants. It is a great squalid metropolis like London, where nothing much would be out of place and where houses … are huddled up higgledy-piggledy against each other without any objective design. … Now and then, there is a bit of a city, complete with all the arteries of a great town, the cell and canals of our body’. (Julian Trevelyan quoted in Philip Trevelyan, 'Julian Trevelyan', in A Painter's Paradise: Julian Trevelyan & Mary Fedden at Durham Wharf, Sotheby's, London, 23 November 2016, p.17).