William Collins, R.A.

The Sale of the Pet Lamb

Lot Closed

April 6, 03:26 PM GMT

Estimate

6,000 - 8,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

Property from a Hampshire Private Collection

William Collins, R.A.

London 1787 - 1847

The Sale of the Pet Lamb

oil on canvas

unframed: 79.1 x 100.3 cm.; 31⅛ x 39½ in.

framed: 93.7 x 115.2 cm.; 36⅞ x 45⅜ in.

Mr. Ogden, by whom purchased from the artist at the Royal Academy, 1813;
W.A. Watts;
H. Wallis;
By whom sold, Winstanley, 28 May 1852, lot 58;
J. Reed;
By whom sold, London, Christie’s, 25 May 1872, lot 48, to Gilbert;
W.A. Joyce;
By whom sold, London, Christie’s, 22 July 1876, lot 92, to Graves;
With Henry Graves, London, inv. no. 3097 (his label on the reverse of the stretcher);
Caroline Agnes Graham, Duchess of Montrose (1818-94);
By whom posthumously sold, London, Christie’s, 4 May 1895, lot 74, to Gooden;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby’s, 29 November 1978, lot 18, where acquired.

W. Wilkie Collins, Memoirs of the life of William Collins, Esq., R.A., vol. I, London 1848, pp. 49-50;

R. and S. Redgrave, A century of British Painters, London 1947, p. 380;

The Connoisseur, April 1957, no. 1.

ENGRAVED

S.W. Reynolds

London, Royal Academy, 1813, no. 191.

This painting marked a turning point in Collins' career. It was received with such great acclaim that its success, as Wilkie Collins wrote, "at once eclipsed the more moderate celebrity of all his former works." The work is indeed credited as the impetus for Collins' election as an associate of the Royal Academy in November 1814, following its display there in the previous year.

Note on provenance

Caroline Agnes Graham, Duchess of Montrose, was perhaps the most notorious female racing enthusiast and racehorse owner of the 19th century. She used the pseudonym 'Mr Manton' in order to circumvent the Jockey Club's male-only trainers rule, and was otherwise known as 'Carrie Red', due to the scarlet racing colours she inherited from her second husband, the wealthy racehorse owner William Stuart Stirling-Crawfurd (1820-83); she would also dress entirely in that colour at race meetings. The Duchess of Montrose betted heavily, was seldom absent from meetings at which her horses were competing, and associated almost exclusively with other followers of the turf.