Myles Birket Foster, R.W.S.

Holbrook Gaskell Esq., Woolton

STRUCTURE This watercolour is in very good condition. The colours are still strong and there are no obvious damages, stains or signs of foxing. The paper is undulating in the frame and the picture would benefit from being flattened by a paper conservator. FRAME This picture is under glass and contained in a gilt moulded plaster frame with minor losses and a clean mount.
"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."

Of all Birket Foster's subjects the most charming are those which depict pastoral scenes of children and young women, involved in outdoor activities such as picking flowers and berries, reading in the shadow of trees, paddling in streams or playing together in the sunlight. These rustic idylls are the epitome of Englishness in which the glory of the seasons are celebrated in the jolly dispositions of the exuberant little children, dressed in a way which is perfectly in keeping with the picturesque qualities of his woodland and pastoral scenes. The skies are always blue, the meadows and riverbanks bejewelled with wild flowers and the children happy and decorous and there are never rain clouds threatening to ruin the perfection of the blue skies above. The idyllic charm of Birket Foster's watercolours of this type, was described by Marcus Huish as 'gentle art' and he continued to described the countryside as portrayed by Foster, 'we find his fields alive with nibbling flocks, his lanes with the slowly moving wain, his streams with the solid angler, and his woods with Horace's pensive muser... although he sometimes paints the rushing torrent... he much prefers the infant stream and - "Willows grey close crowding o'er the brook" (Marcus B. Huish, Birket Foster; His Life and Work, The Art Annual, 1890, pg.19). In the present watercolour a group of girls are playing with a toy doll on a country lane outside a cottage, overlooking a sunlit landscape.