James Hayllar

Anonymous sale, Genoa, Cambi Casa d'Aste, 29 February 2024, lot 195;

Where acquired.

London, The British Institution, Exhibitions of the works of British artists, 1866, no. 627.

Catalogue of the works of British artists in the gallery of the British Institution, exh. cat., London 1866, p. 23, no. 627;

A. Graves, The British Institution, 1806–1867; a complete dictionary of contributors and the their work from the foundation of the institution, London 1908, p. 253.

When this painting was exhibited at the British Institution, London, in 1866, it was valued at £105, which was the highest price Hayllar had asked for his work thus far in his career. The figure on the right, looking towards the viewer, has been traditionally identified as Mary Godsall (1844–1922), while the figure on the left has been suggested to represent the wife of the artist, Ellen Hayllar (1827–1899). Both women seem to appear again in two signed pictures dated 1860 and 1863 respectively, the first of which was offered for sale at Dorotheum, Vienna,¹ in 2011 and the second at Woolley & Wallis, Salisbury, in 2015.²

Another version of the present composition, which is unsigned, smaller in size and painted on board, was offered at Christie's, London, in 2001.³

¹ Oil on canvas, 63.7 x 76 cm.; Vienna, Dorotheum, 28 April 2011, lot 151.

² Oil on canvas, 63.5 x 76 cm.; Salisbury, Woolley & Wallis, 9 December 2015, lot 380.

³ Oil on board, 31 x 35.7 cm.; London, Christie's, 12 June 2001, lot 41.