Arthur Severn

Watercolour and bodycolour over traces of pencil on blue paper, inscribed in pencil on old mount (and partially strengthened in pencil) Dent du midi- from valley of the Rhone- early morning17.4 x 25.1 cmThe Dent du Midi is a mountain with seven summits in the Chablais Alps in the Swiss canton of Valais, reaching a height of 3257 metres (10,686 feet). Dominating the Vald’Illiez and the Rhône Valley, to the south it faces the Lac de Salanfe, an artificial reservoir. Geologically it makes up a part of the massif Haut Giffre. In this watercolour the Haut Cime, the highest summit, dominates the composition.In 1871 Severn married Joan Agnew, a cousin of the Ruskins, who had acted as companion to John Ruskin’s mother, who died in that year. When Ruskin then moved from Denmark Hill in South London to Brantwood in the Lake District, the Severns accompanied him and remained part of the household until his death.In April 1872 the Severns were invited by Ruskin on a continental tour; Albert Goodwin was also one of the party. Goodwin and Severn sketched together at Mont Blanc, at Chambéry and at Geneva, from where they continued to Italy. The present drawing probably derives from this trip.Literature: James S. Dearden, ed., The Professor: Arthur Severn’s Memoir of John Ruskin, London: Allen & Unwin, 1967 I am grateful to Stephen Wildman and Christopher Newall for their comments on this drawing.

Signed and dated l.l.: Arthur Severn R.I./1906, watercolour over traces of pencil, with label attached to backing board.27 x 37 cm.; 10 5/8 x 10 5/8 inches.Provenance: The Leicester Galleries, London, ‘Exhibition of Works by Arthur Severn, R.I’, June 1906, no. 30, where bought by George Allen Esq; The Court Gallery, East Molesey, Surrey; Sotheby's London, July 6, 2016, Lot 328.The son of Joseph Severn, the artist and friend of John Keats, the artist studied in Paris and Rome and first exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1862, at Whistler’s suggestion. He was a founder member of the Arts Club and a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours who exhibited widely throughout his career.Arthur married Joan Agnew, a cousin of John Ruskin in 1871. When Ruskin moved from Denmark Hill in South London to Brantwood on Coniston Water in the Lake District the Severns accompanied him and remained part of the household until his death.Arthur Severn's recollections of Ruskin, edited by James Dearden, were published in 1967 under the title The Professor.