Daniel Thomas Egerton (1797-1842)

James Wilson, Los Angeles acquired circa 1965
Thence by descent to the present owner

The canvas is unlined and well-stretched. Craquelure is present throughout, particularly within the sky; however, the paint layer does appear stable overall. Frame abrasion and intermittent paint-loss is present along all four edges of the canvas. A layer of varnish is visible. Under ultra-violet inspection, a three-inch horizontal line of in-painting is visible in the sky of the upper left quadrant. Overall, the work is in very good 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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Daniel Thomas Egerton was an early English traveler painter who visited Mexico at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The exact date of his first visit to Mexico is not known but is assumed to be 1830 as his first dated work is from 1831. He travelled Mexico widely and works depicting the landscapes of Michoacán, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, Puebla, Veracruz and Pachuca as well as the valley of Mexico have survived. In 1834, Egerton and his companion Baron Gros scaled the imposing snow covered volcano that stands guard over the valley of Mexico, the Popocatepetl; both painters captured some of the first known images of the steaming caldera.

Upon his return to England in 1836, Egerton held an exhibition of paintings from his travels throughout Mexico and the United States at the Royal Society of British Painters. The success of this exhibition led him to produce what is perhaps his best known work, a portfolio of hand-colored lithographs published in 1839 and 1840 entitled Views of Mexico. In a time before photography and when travel was long and dangerous, these exhibitions and prints of exotic lands gave the public a view of the world that they only had read about. These artistic endeavors were so successful that they gave way to a genre of painting often referred to as traveler paintings which provided a livelihood for those intrepid artists who visited distant regions of the world and then returned to Europe to organize exhibitions where the public was charged an entrance fee to view the results of their voyages. (See also Giuseppe Leone Righini, A Panoramic View of the Bay of Belém do Pará, Brazil, lot 13 in this sale and Pietro Gualdi, Hacienda Nueva de Fresnillo (Hacienda Grande), lot 15 in this sale). Smaller works based on the large paintings in the exhibitions were often commissioned by clients and print portfolios were produced to fund further expeditions.