John Atkinson Grimshaw

Purchased directly from the artist by a private collector, in whose family it remained until 2006;
Bonham's, 14 November 2006, lot 196;
Richard Green, London;
Private collection

Original canvas. Some very minor craquelure in the tree trunk by the right edge, only visible upon close inspection. The work appears in good overall condition. Ultraviolet light reveals some minor retouchings to frame abrasions at centre of extreme top edge. Held in a gilt wood composite frame, ready to hang.
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John Atkinson Grimshaw was an undisputed master of rendering light - as proficient at capturing the distinct light of the rising or setting sun as he was the moon (see lots 29 and 31). Rich in atmosphere and detail, Grimshaw’s paintings were hugely popular to Victorian audiences and remain as evocative today.

In Golden Autumn, a lone female figure walks down a road bathed in the last light of an autumn evening. To her right a shaft of light breaks through the wall and illuminates the gate to her left. The bare trees are silhouetted against the golden sky and cast long shadows while the road glistens through Grimshaw’s intricate painting technique. The tracks of horses and carts that have passed through earlier have left their impressions in the damp soil. Behind the wall a grand mansion can be seen, its solitary appearance lending itself to the sense of tranquility and mystery in the painting.

This work belongs to a series of paintings that Grimshaw produced in the 1880s of suburban streets in autumn, predominantly painted in Yorkshire although the artist would assimilate various views he had seen into his own imaginary compositions. As such, they contrast with the moonlit, suburban subjects he undertook of the great cities of Britain such as Prince’s Dock, Hull (lot 31). In Golden Autumn, the location remains anonymous enhancing both the work’s intrigue and romance, which were prevalent themes in Victorian culture. The painting closely echoes the poetry and literature of the age, such as Wordsworth, Browning, Shelley and Tennyson, whom Grimshaw was particularly inspired by. The lines of Tennyon’s ‘Enoch Arden’ resonate strongly with the present work:

The climbing street, the mill, the leafy lanes,
The peacock-yewtree and the lonely Hall,
The horse he drove, the boat he sold, the chill
November dawns and dewy glooming downs,
The gentle shower, the smell of dying leaves.’

In Golden Autumn, Grimshaw celebrates the beauty of the close of day and the wistful and emotive sense of stillness felt through the diffused golden light which floods the composition.