Herbert James Draper

STRUCTURE Original canvas with rich colours and impasto. There is a small repaired tear in the lower left quadrant. There is a small surface scratch to the figure's leg and a few small areas of fine craquelure to the roses and to her darker garments. ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT There are small areas of retouching to the upper right corner, near the bottom of the left-hand column which corresponds with the aforementioned repair and to the right of her left knee. FRAME Contained in a gilt Victorian style frame in 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. 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."

 '... far in the crimsoning east wakeful Dawn threw wide the shining doors of her rose-filled chamber.'
Ovid, Metamorphoses

The Gates of Dawn (Draper's Hall, London), which was exhibited to great acclaim at the Royal Academy in 1900, depicts the Roman goddess Aurora, the personification of the dawn. The painting for which this is a recently rediscovered sketch, has been described as '...one of Draper's most monumental figures... inviting and alluring, magnificently beautiful and proud' (Simon Toll, Herbert Draper 1863-1920, A Life Study, 2002, p.101).

Herbert Draper established his reputation as the successor to Frederic Leighton with his dramatic paintings of mythological subjects. His Lament for Icarus of 1898 (Tate) was his first great public success and remains his best-known painting. The Gates of Dawn was Draper's next painting based on Classical myth and it was painted on life-sized scale depicting Florrie Bird, a professional model who had posed for the sea-nymph pulling herself from the water in The Lament for Icarus. The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1900 and partly represents the optimism for the new century with a painting of a modern woman symbolising a new dawn. An art critic described the picture as combining: 'happily a touch of modern ease with the formalities of the Academic manner' (The Globe, 4 April 1900). 

An admirer wrote to Draper after seeing the finished The Gates of Dawn at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition to express her admiration for the painting and enclosed a poem that she had written; 

'How beautiful to gaze upon,
The opening of 'The Gates of Dawn'.
Ah what a glorious primal day,
When all of Chaos passed away.
Yet once again Creation waits,
The opening of those golden gates,
When all of night shall pass away,
In Resurrection's new made day.'