Albert Goodwin, R.W.S.

Purchased from the artist by George Price Boyce (advised by Ford Madox Brown);
Boyce's studio sale, Christie's, 1 July 1897, lot 42 (mis-attributed to G.P. Boyce);
Peter Nahum, London

Washington, National Gallery of Art, The Great Age of British Watercolours 1750-1880, 1993;
London, Tate Britain, Berlin, Altes Nationalgalerie, and Madrid, Fundació 'la Caxia', Pre-Raphaelite Vision: Truth to Nature, 2004, no.51

The sheet bows slightly and sign of a small horizontal crease along lower edge, otherwise it appears in good overall condition. Held under glass in gilt plaster frame with a gilt mount; unexamined out of frame.
"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."

According to a label on the reverse, this watercolour was bought from the nineteen-year-old artist by George Price Boyce through the intermediary of Ford Madox Brown. This is further evidence that Goodwin and Boyce were known to each other c.1864 through their connections with Brown (see the note for Boyce's Newcastle from the Rabbit Banks, lot 125). Due to its similarity with Boyce's own watercolours from the early 1860s, the attribution of Near Winchester became confused and it was sold as being a work by Boyce in his studio sale at Christie's in 1897.

Although the present sale boasts two watercolours by Goodwin painted in the Pre-Raphaelite manner (see previous lot), they are not numerous and due to its inclusion in the exhibitions in Washington and at Tate, Near Winchester has become one of the best-known of Goodwin's watercolours in this style. 

Early in his career he came under the influence firstly of Arthur Hughes who encouraged the young boy to be a painter when they both lived in Maidstone in Kent, and later by Ford Madox Brown. Goodwin became Brown's student and studio assistant in the early 1860s and he began to paint in a Pre-Raphaelite manner but this was halted when Hughes introduced Goodwin to Ruskin, who took him on a trip to Italy in 1872 and encouraged him to work in a more open, ethereal style based upon that of J.M.W. Turner.