Emma Sandys

Sale: Phillips, London, 24 November 1998, lot 38A (as by Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys)

Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Emma Sandys compared to her more well-known and gregarious brother Anthony Frederick (fourteen years her senior) lived a very quiet and private life. Sadly not much is known. She lived in Norwich with her parents until her premature death of lung failure in 1877. She was however, well known in her community; after her death people recalled being asked to sit for the artist in her studio, and she received patronage very early in her career - a local collector William Dixon purchased Girl with a Butterfly, Pleasant Dreams and Devotion (Jan Marsh and Pamela Gerrish Nunn, Women Artists and the Pre-Raphaelite Movement, London, 1989, p. 89). Sandys exhibited at the Norwich and Eastern Counties Working Classes Industrial Exhibition, at the Norwich Fine Arts Association, Society of Lady Artists and also the Royal Academy in London. 

Both siblings were taught initially by their father who was a portrait painter. Frederick however, had the added benefit of attending the Norwich School of Design, an opportunity not afforded to Emma. She was undoubtedly inspired by her brother and they appear to have shared ideas, props and studio space. The cloak depicted in The Gold Earring, is also seen in Frederick’s painting Vivien of 1863 (Manchester Art Gallery). Due to their close relationship and his fame, many of Emma’s works have been incorrectly attributed to him, an error slowly being re-addressed. For instance, the present work was sold in 1998 erroneously as being by Frederick.

Sandys’ focus on medium-sized oils of mostly women, reveals a clear delight and skill at rendering rich textures, bright accessories, florals and lustrous hair. Her paintings depict her models in interesting and innovative poses (often against a dark background decorated with flowers). The identity of many of the sitters are not known, yet the strength of design, makes each painting enthralling regardless. Her works are still engaging 150 years after they were painted.