George Elgar Hicks, R.B.A.

W. K. Procter: by whom sold Sotheby's Belgravia, London, 9 July 1974, lot 72 (as 'attributed to William Powell Frith') bought by J. S. Maas & Co. on behalf of Lady Scott for £750

STRUCTURE Original canvas in stable condition. PAINT SURFACE Scattered craquelure particularly to the sky area. Some patches of surface dirt. Otherwise in good overall condition. ULTRAVIOLET UV light reveals a spot of retouching to the lower right corner and scattered spots to the figures and objects. Also to the signature. FRAME Held in a lightly decorated gold composite frame in fair condition.
"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."

George Elgar Hicks is best known for his panoramic modern-life subjects such as Dividend Day at the Bank of England and The General Post Office at One Minute to Six, paintings which documented the extraordinary changes in the lives of men and women that were occuring in the middle years of the century. This type of panoramic social observation had been led by William Powell Frith, whose painting The Derby Day had been shown in 1858, but must also have owed something to the early London-based novels of Charles Dickens, such as The Old Curiosity Shop (1841) and Dombey and Son (1847-8). Hicks also painted genre subjects in rustic settings without any ostensible purpose of social observation.

Surprisingly, paintings of picnics are rare considering that one of the most famous of nineteenth century paintings is of one, Manet's Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe. Although the entymology of the word is unsure, possibly from the French verb pigner meaning to pick or peck, it had entered the English language by the mid eighteenth century. With the increase in transport in the next century it became a more familiar activity, encouraged by the Picnic Society. In the literary world such events were described across the century, from Jane Austen who mentioned them in Emma, when the protagonists gather on Box Hill, to Ratie and Mole in Kenneth Graham's Wind in the Willows. In this painting the artist takes pleasure in depicting the al fresco happiness of the scene with the three young ladies who have even brought the tea cups, saucers and a tea pot to this vantage point over the English Channel.