Edward Wadsworth, A.R.A.

Acquired directly from the artist by Sir Arthur and Lady Bliss in 1936

Paris, Pompidou Centre, Images et Imaginaires d'Architecture, 1984. 

Alan Powers, Harmonious Mansions: Two Composers' Houses of the 1930s, Country Life, London, 29 August 1985, pp.559-563, illustrated;
Barbara Wadsworth, Edward Wadsworth: A Painter's Life, Michael Russell, Salisbury 1989, pp.235-237, illustrated, W/A 173;
Jonathan Black, Edward Wadsworth: Form, Feeling and Calculation, Philip Wilson Publishers, London 2005, cat. no.338, illustrated;
Margaret Campbell, 'What Tuberculosis did for Modernism: The Influence of a Curative Environment on Modernist Design and Architecture', Medical History, 1 October 2005, pp.463-488. 

The board appears to be in good original condition. There are a few tiny spots of paint loss: two in the centre of the upper edge, one in the centre of the left edge, and two in the cloud in the upper left quadrant. Otherwise the paint surface is in good overall condition. Examination under ultra-violet light reveals a few small scattered spots of fluorescence in some of the areas of white paint. These appear to be in the hand of the artist. Held under glass in a simple wooden frame with a white slip. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 5381 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"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.
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Painted in 1936, Pen Pits shows the modernist house that Peter Harland had designed for Sir Arthur and Lady Bliss in Somerset and which had been completed shortly before. One of the pioneering examples of this type of domestic architecture in Britain, the painting arose from a conversation during one of Wadsworth's visits to the Blisses and by 7^th August he was able to write to Lady Bliss, 'Dear Trudy, The picture of Pen Pits is finished: I have been working 7-8 hours a day on it and though I says it as shouldn't I think it looks well.'

The amalgamation of the country house portrait tradition with both modernist architecture and Wadworth's own very distinctive style offers us an image which at the time must have appeared very striking, and the combination of the purity of the architecture with the informal human touches added by Wadsworth such as the watering can on the terrace offer a wonderful snapshot of this world. Pen Pits still stands, and whilst some changes have been made, and the gardens have come to maturity in the intervening years, it retains exactly the balance of rigorous modernity and sympathy with its setting that Wadsworth found so appealing.