Richard Henry Wright Dent Blanche, Valais, Switzerland

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.

Watercolour over pencil heightened with bodycolour on thick cream paper12.8 x 17.7 cm; 5 ⅛ x 7 inchesProvenance: Frances Foster, the artist’s second wife.This delightful sketch is unusually spontaneous for the artist and shows the influence of John Ruskin. Huge skies are a frequent component of Birket Foster’s more finished watercolours.

Inscribed and dated l.l.: Monte Generoso/1879, and further inscribed with colour notes, pen and brown ink over pencil25 x 51.5 cm; 9 7/8 x 20 1/4 inches£8500Lear returned to Varese and Monte Generoso, on the border between Italy and Switzerland between lakes Lugano and Como, from June 29 to September 22 1879. He stayed at Mendrisio, across the Swiss border in Ticino. He enjoyed sketching the views south across the plains, as in the present watercolour and the mountains stretching up to the Alps. Marianne North the botanical artist came to Como towards the end of his stay and they made a trip to Monte Civita near Monza together.This drawing is taken from a similar vantage point to that of an oil of the same subject dated 1880 in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum (WA196.39).An unpublished poem “The Lays of the Octopods’ about the perils of mass tourism at Monte Generoso has recently come to light in the British Library.

Signed with initials in pencil l.r.: HBB, watercolour24 x 17 cm.; 9 ½ x 6 ¾ inchesProvenancePietro Raffo, until 2022£2200This watercolour shows the influence of J.M.W. Turner, whose watercolour studies were copied by Brabazon.

KT493Watercolour over traces of pencil, inscribed in pen and dark brown ink verso: 58/Sketch Cozens (crossed out)/J. Varley15 x 24.5 cm.; 6 x 9 5/8 inchesProvenanceC.L.N. Miles Esq;Spink (K3 7052);Private collection U.K. until 2021This intriguing drawing has been attributed to John Robert Cozens and John Varley in the past. It bears a resemblance to one of Edward Dayes Icelandic subjects and can be compared with the view of Mount Hekla in the collection of Eton College https://catalogue.etoncollege.com/object-fda-d-183-2010This drawing was probably based on an on-the-spot sketch of Iceland, made circa 1800-1810, as would have been the case for the view of Mount Hekla in the Eton collection. Hekla is one of Iceland’s most active volcanoes located in the south of the country.The influence of Girtin and Turner, can be seen in the treatment of the sky and the mountains, and is a resemblance to the work on which Turner and Girtin collaborated has been suggested. Stylistically the lower half of this work seems to look back to the blot techniques of Alexander Cozens.I am grateful to Ian Warrell and Greg Smith for their comments on this drawing.

KT634inscribed and dated 'Canonteign July 24. 1829 [?]' on the reverse, pencil, pen and brown ink and grey wash 26.9 x 37.9 cm.; 10 ½ x 14 7/8 inchesProvenance:Agnew's, London. Anonymous sale, Phillips, London, 16 July 1996, lot 16; with Heather Newman, Painswick, Gloucestershire.Abbott was one of the best amateur watercolourists of the late Eighteenth Century. A surgeon and apothecary, he lived in Exeter until 1825. He exhibited paintings at the Royal Academy from 1793, receiving contemporary acclaim for the style of his work. The artist John Downman said that ‘he prefers his drawings before his paintings, as they are done with more spirit’ (J. Farington, Diary 26 June 1804; vol. VI, p. 2362).In 1825 Abbott inherited Fordland, a Devon estate, from his uncle James White, an Exeter barrister, Nonconformist and close friend of Francis Towne. Abbott became a patron and pupil of Towne’s, and his linear style shows the artist’s influence. After moving to Fordland he devoted himself to drawing.

Inscribed and dated l.l.: From Egutpoora/en route to Bombay/from Nagpore/Dec 2nd/69, watercolour over pencil.The artist stopped in Nagpore ‘the city of the Naga’, or serpent, on the railway to Bombay, In the Himalayas, p. 569.For further work by this artist please see the catalogue link and enquire about availability: https://media.karentaylorfineart.com/pdfs/Constance-Frederica-Gordon-Cumming-KTFA-2025.pdf

A pair, each signed with initals and dated 1870 and 1869 l.l. and l.r., watercolour over traces of pencil heightened with bodycolour and gum arabic, one signed and inscribed on label attached to backboard: Lilies (1876)/Fanny Vallance/Farnham Royal/Bucks, the other inscribed on label verso: Within the bush, her covert nest/A little linnet fondly rests/’BurnsOne 37 x 27.5 cm.; 14 ½ x 10 7/8 inches; the other 38.5 x 27 cm.; 15 1/8 x 10 5/8 inchesProvenanceLady LongmoreThe little-known artist exhibited a work entitled ‘Fruit’ at the Royal Academy in 1876, her address given as 43 Porchester Square, Hyde Park West, London.Fanny Vallance was the daughter of Henry Vallance (d. 1905), who built Farnham Park, in Farnham Royal, Buckinghamshire in 1865, and his wife Emily, née Carr. Most of the contents of the house were sold after his death in 1905.A photograph of the artist taken in 1862 by Camille Silvy in her Bayswater studio is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.

KT453BInscribed and dated in pencil verso: Tring Hill/ 1791, oil on paper12.8 x 19 cm.; 5 1/16 x 7 ½ inchesFrame size 29 x 34 cm.; 11 1/4 x 13 ¼ inchesProvenanceMr Nicholson, Oxford, until 1942, when acquired byEdward Croft-Murray, CBE, (1907-1980);Jill Croft-Murray until 2020;Woolley and Wallis, The Edward Croft-Murray Collection, 11 August 2021, lot 421This spontaneous oil sketch originally came from an album of oil sketches from nature, executed in 1790s and assembled by the artist for his own pleasure, inscribed ‘Studies from nature by G. Garrard’. Five further examples of his oil sketches of locations in and around London are in the collection of Tate Gallery.

Signed with monogram l.r., inscribed l.l.: near Calikut., watercolour heightened with touches of bodycolourProvenanceFranklin Lushington (1823-1901) and thence by descentLear was invited to India by his friend and patron Lord Northbrook who was appointed Viceroy in 1871, and his journey there was the last and longest of his life. He was overwhelmed by the colour and vitality of India and enjoyed the bustle of Viceregal life.Calicut, or present-day Kozhikode, is on the Malabar coast in Kerala and was a centre of the Indian spice trade. Edward Lear arrived there in October 1874, just as the monsoon began. He was warned about the dangers of contracting fever but stayed, despite the pouring rain, until the skies were clear enough to draw. He described the roads around the city as “of such redundant beauty one can hardly dream.” Franklin Lushington, Lear’s close friend and first owner of this drawing, was the son of Edmund Henry Lushington. He was appointed judge to the Supreme Court of Justice in the Ionian Islands in 1855 and Lear went with him to live in Corfu. They first met in Malta in 1849, where Franklin’s elder brother Henry was Chief Secretary to the government. On his death, Lear left all his papers to Lushington, who later destroyed most of them.