Edward Thompson Davis

Christie's, London, 11 July 1969, lot 50, where bought by J. S. Maas & Son on behalf of Lady Scott for £4,200

The following condition report has been provided by Hamish Dewar, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. STRUCTURAL CONDITION The artist's prepared panel is stable and providing a good structural support. PAINT SURFACE Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals several small scattered spots of retouching as well as a considerably discoloured varnish surface. The retouchings appear: 1. in the sky, 2. in the face of the girl, 3. on her clothes in the lower right hand corner, 4. a vertical line along the left hand framing edge measuring approximately 8 cm in length. The varnish surface appears dull and matt. SUMMARY The painting therefore appears to be in good and stable condition with considerable potential to improvement in appearance should the panel be cleaned and revarnished. Hamish Dewar Ltd, 13 & 14 Mason's Yard, Duke Street, St James's, London SW1Y 6BU Tel: +44 (0)20 7930 4004 Fax: +44 (0)20 7930 4100 Email: hamish@hamishdewar.co.uk
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Edward Thompson Davis is a most interesting figure in the wider context of mid-Victorian art. He was born and lived at Northwick in Worcester, in which city he studied at the School of Design; - and despite his adherence to the most familiar subject matter - he painted scenes of country life, often of children and giving particular attention to the pleasures of the childish existence - he treated these subjects with extraordinary clarity of observation and absence of sentimentality. Perhaps his most ambitious work, Market Scene, with a Performance of 'Punch', (private collection) shows a Punch and Judy show in the High Street of Chipping Camden, with a large group of children assembled as spectators, each one carefully represented as an individual physiognomy.

Davis was a brilliant draughtsman, both of figures and of nature and landscape subjects. A remarkable collection of his drawings appeared on the market in 1951, and was in part dispersed by Colnaghi's, with notable groups of drawings entering the collection of the late Sir Brinsley Ford, and that at Eton College. The folio from which these drawings came, with many beautiful studies intact, passed to the Ingram collection, and was sold at Sotheby's on 8 December 2005, lot 245. The range of subjects treated as drawings in this album gives an indication of Davis's principal and most favoured choice of subject - representing as many do rustic interiors and scenery in the neighbourhood of Worcester, along with many delicious figure studies, including male and female figures, nude and draped. In about 1866, Davis - then in his early thirties - travelled to Rome, seeking to extend his artistic education. He died there on 12 June 1867.