Old Masters Day Auction
Old Masters Day Auction
Property from a European Private Collection
Henry Pether
London, a view of the Thames with the new Palace of Westminster under construction - Night
Lot Closed
July 7, 02:40 PM GMT
Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from a European Private Collection
Henry Pether
active in London 1828 - 1865
London, a view of the Thames with the new Palace of Westminster under construction - Night
signed lower right: Henry Pether
oil on canvas
unframed: 61 x 91.2 cm.; 24 x 35⅞ in.
framed: 76 x 106.5 cm.; 29⅞ x 41⅞ in.
Anonymous sale, Phillips, London, 18 June 1996, lot 43, for £12,650;
With Jonathan Harris, London;
From whom acquired by the present owner.
This signed work by Henry Pether captures the construction of one of London's most significant pieces of architecture. It shows a view of the Thames with architect Sir Charles Barry and A.W.N. Pugin's new Palace of Westminster nearing completion. Of particular note are the wooden cranes perched on top of the Victoria Tower, a portion of the building which was only completed in May 1860. Just visible to the right is the incomplete St Stephen's Tower, home to the iconic bell 'Big Ben', which was completed a year earlier in May 1859. A drawing and watercolour of the building at the same stage of completion, 'sketched on the spot' by the artist James Wilson Carmichael (1800–1868), is preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.1 To the right of the river is the Tudor Lambeth Palace, the London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury.