John William Godward, R.B.A.

D. T. Brown, Colwyn Bay, North Wales
Sale: Christie's, London, December 21, 1933, lot 27
D. Fraser (acquired at the above sale)
Helen V. Sutcliffe, Sutcliffe Galleries, Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, October 24, 1996, lot 115, illustrated

Rome, Internationale, 1913
Paris, Exposition Universelle, 1914
Brussels, Exposition Internationale, 1919

Vern Grosvenor Swanson, John William Godward, The Eclipse of Classicism, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1997, p. 233, no. 1913.3, illustrated pl. 80, p. 103

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This painting is in more or less perfect condition. The canvas has never been removed from the original stretcher. The paint layer is stable and un-blemished by cracking or discoloration. The paint layer is clean and varnished. We are unable to detect any retouches and the picture should be hung as is.
"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."

British painter John William Godward, one of the foremost Victorian Neoclassicists, built an illustrious career upon creating images of beautiful Grecian goddesses in lavish Arcadian settings. Though greatly influenced by his mentor, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Godward distinguished himself through his predilection for the solitary female figure. In his study of Victorian painters of classical subjects, Christopher Wood described Godward's career: "...the best, and the most serious of Alma-Tadema's followers was John William Godward... All his life he devoted himself only to classical subjects, invariably involving girls in classical robes on marble terraces, but painted with a degree of technical mastery that almost rivals that of Alma-Tadema. Godward was also an admirer of Lord Leighton, and his figures do sometimes achieve a monumentality lacking in the work of most of Alma-Tadema's followers" (Christopher Wood, Olympian Dreamers, Victorian Classical Painters 1860-1914, London, 1983, p. 247).

Golden Hours (Expectancy) is a particularly compelling example of Godward's work; the female figure is undoubtedly one of his most beautiful models. The unique perspective and format are extremely successful; the foreshortening convincingly creates the illusion of a recession into space, which extends back to the distant mountains. The viewer feels as if witnessing the scene through a lens, and the model likewise peers back under the shade of her fan. Golden Hours (Expectancy) was clearly a personal favorite of the artist, who inscribed "One of my masterpieces" on the stretcher. Rather than selling it immediately upon its completion, Godward retained it in his personal collection and exhibited it three times internationally between 1913 and 1919. Godward based its composition on preliminary drawings, one of which is preserved in his 1913-14 sketchbook.