- 59
Walter Langley, R.I.
Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 GBP
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Description
- Walter Langley, R.I.
- Maternity
- signed l.r.: WALTER LANGLEY
- oil on canvas
- 109 by 134cm., 43 by 53in.
Exhibited
Royal Academy 1911, no.762;
Literature
Roger Langley, Walter Langley - From Birmingham to Newlyn, 1997, pp.93, 95;
Roger Langley, Walter Langley - Pioneer of the Newlyn Art Colony, 1997, pp.95, 138, 140
Roger Langley, Walter Langley - Pioneer of the Newlyn Art Colony, 1997, pp.95, 138, 140
Condition
Original canvas. There is a faint area of craquelure to the bottom of the pink blanket and another to the cradle. Also a faint diagonal surface abrasion near the bottom of the cradle; otherwise the work appears in good overall condition.
Under ultraviolet light there are retouchings across the composition.
Held in a gilt plaster 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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
Unlike many of Langley's pictures of the every-day life of fisher-folk, Maternity is not a harrowing image of the hardships of life on the Cornish coast. It is a harmonic image of motherhood in which a young mother is smiling at her baby who is tucked-up snugly in a rocking cradle beside the warmth of the bread-oven on top of which the infant's sister is placing a pot of flowers. The same cottage interior was depicted in Memories of 1906 (Ferens Art Gallery, Hull) A Reverie of 1908 (Christie's, 5 June 2008, lot 16) and the watercolour Thoughts Far Away (sold in these rooms, 7 June 2005, lot 80).
A painting titled Maternity was exhibited at the Fine Art Society in 1893 and described by Alice Meynell in her introductory note to catalogue: 'This is, by the way, one of his few oil paintings, and its rich but cool tone, its full but simple execution, give you a taste for more in the same manner. It shows the infrequent pleasure that an out-of-door painter, who has exercised his eyes on opaque and diffused effects, takes in the transparent gloom and localised light of an interior.' (Collection of Water-colour Drawings Illustrating Fisher-Life by Walter Langley R.I., exhibition catalogue for Fine Art Society, 1891, no.43)