John Sell Cotman Boats off Cologne

Watercolour over traces of pencil heightened with gum arabic and stopping out12.7 x 21.2 cm.; 5 x 8 2/8 inchesProvenanceMartyn Gregory Fine ArtThis colourful watercolour dates from 1833-4 and is based on a sketch made on the spot by Commander Robert Elliot, R.N. (1790-1849) in the early 1820s. Several professional watercolour artists copied his sketches, amongst them Thomas Shotter Boys, David Cox, William Purser, Samuel Prout and Clarkson Stanfield, and their watercolours were engraved and published in 1834-5 as Views in India, China, and on the Shores of the Red Sea. The present watercolour was not engraved, but other views made for this series by Cotman are in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and the Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston.The Elephanta Caves, on Elephanta Island off Mumbai are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for their rock-architecture and carvings. This watercolour is taken from inside the most famous cave.

Signed and dated l.r.: W. Callow.1833, watercolour over traces of pencil with scratching outProvenancePrivate collection U.K. until 2026This fine example of Callow’s work dates from the time he was sharing a studio in Paris with Thomas Shotter Boys at 19 Rue de Bouloi near the Louvre. He visited England during the summer and presumably travelled through Dover.

KT579Signed l.l.: M E Cotman 1831, watercolour with scratching out and stopping out29.5 x 36.6 cm.; 11 ¾ x 14 3/8 inchesProvenanceBy family descent to Grahame Cotman (1878-1938);Susan Gay Wiltshire, née Cotman (d.2022)ExhibitedNorwich Castle Museum, ‘Exhibition of Norwich School Pictures’, 1927, no. 151This work was lent to the Norwich Castle Museum exhibition in 1927 by Grahame Cotman and probably depicts shipping off the Norfolk coast.Miles Edmund was John Sell Cotman’s eldest son and his closest collaborator, his work often very similar to that of his father. He is particularly famed for his seascapes in watercolour of which the present work is a fine, exhibited, example. He was born in Norwich and spent his childhood and adolescence in Great Yarmouth, learning from his father. He exhibited with the Norwich Society of Artists from 1823, when the family returned to Norwich, and assisted his father with a drawing school run from the family home.He married Elizabeth Juby in 1842 and they had three children. The family lived in North London in the early 1850s but returned to Norfolk a few years later, where Cotman continued to paint and teach.M.E. Cotman’s work can be found in many public collections including the British Museum and Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery.

Watercolour over pencil14.8 x 22 cm.; 8 x 8 ¾ inchesProvenanceIolo Williams (1890-1962)The Italian artist, born in Cremona, settled in England in 1803, having travelled in Greece and Egypt with William Wilkins, R.A.His work has often been confused with that of Constable, particularly his coastal views which look quite similar.Examples of his work may be found at the British Museum, the V&A, Brighton Art Gallery and in several other museum collections.

Inscribed l.l.: Chatham/1810 and inscribed verso: 8t October 1810, watercolour over traces of pencil14 x 22.2 cm.; 5 1⁄2 x 8 3⁄4 inchesProvenancePrivate collection, England; Martyn Gregory, British Watercolours and Drawings 1750-1900, May 2016, no. 2This is a view from Gillingham Bridge, Chatham. The historic dockyard at Chatham was one of Britain’s most important naval Dockyards for over 400 years.The daughter of Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson, Bt. of Charlton in Kent, the artist was a pupil of Francis Towne in her youth. Her mother was a Cheney of Badger Hall, Shropshire, where Peter de Wint was a frequent visitor.Lady (Margaret) Arden was a pupil and a patron of David Cox. She married George Compton, Lord Arden (1756-1840) in 1787.

Signed with initials l.r.: HBB, watercolour and bodycolour over pencil, inscribed verso: Siracuse and stamped with collector’s markProvenanceGilbert Davis (L. 757a.);Edward Seago, his estate sale at Christie’s, London 1 March 1977, lot 94;Where bought by B.M. Williams;Christie’s, London, 21 November 2007, lot 145, where acquired by the previous owner until 2025 Gilbert Davis (1899–1983) built up a large collection of watercolours in the middle of the twentieth century. He sold the bulk of his collection in 1959 to the Huntingdon Library and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. Edward Seago RBA, RWS (1910-1974) was one of the most popular British artists of 20th century, who painted in oils and watercolours.

Inscribed and dated l.l.: Tunbridge.1788, watercolour over traces of pencil on laid paper countermarked: J WHATMAN36 x 53 cm; 14 ¼ x 20 ¾ inchesProvenance: Mrs Charles E. Dunlap, her estate sale, Sotheby’s Parke Bernet Inc., New York, 3–5 December 1975, lot 337; Bought by John Baskett Ltd, London, 1975; Private collection, USA, 1976–2014; Private collection, USA, by descent, 2014–2018.Exhibited: Emily Lowe Gallery, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, 1980, British Watercolours and Drawings 1750–1925, ill. in colour, as pl. 10, p. 26. Davis & Langdale Company, New York, British Drawings 1760–1925, 1980, ill.This delightful view of Tonbridge (the town of bridges) shows the Great Bridge over the river Tunn with the keep of Tonbridge Castle in the background. On the east side of the High Street, the building on the north bank of the Great Bridge, on the right of the composition, was occupied by Widow Wise and Simon Wise, who manufactured Tunbridge Ware, a type of decoratively inlaid woodwork, often in the form of boxes. East of the High Street on the south bank, the occupier was Robert Gabriel; this building was perhaps already an inn, later the Castle Inn and the Six Bells.

ABPPaul Sandby, R.A. (1731- 1809)The River Wye at New Weir, HerefordshireSigned in brushpoint l.l.: P Sandby RA, watercolour and bodycolour, with old labels attached to backboard (illegible)ProvenanceThe Fine Art Society, London;Private collection, U.K.The Longstone can be seen prominently on the left of the composition above the Wye where fishermen and rowers are enjoying the river. Sandby includes the busy iron manufactory on the opposite bank. Many of the tourists who flocked to the river Wye to enjoy its picturesque scenery and to climb Yat Rock also included a visit to the forge, and images of this stretch of the river often include depictions of the lime kilns, stone quarries, and iron and tin works that dotted its banks. Paul Sandby and his brother Thomas (1717-1798) began their careers making maps and military drawings in Scotland. Founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768, they both taught in military establishments and Paul was recognised as the leading topographical artist of his time. The artist toured South Wales with Sir Joseph Banks and others in 1773 which resulted in his series of aquatints of published in 1775-1776. His detailed watercolours of the picturesque landscape and the popular prints fuelled the nascent tourism attracting visitors to the Wye Valley.

KT582Extensively inscribed in the artist’s shorthand, pen and brown ink, stamped verso with collector’s mark14 x 20 cm.; 5 ½ x 8 inchesProvenanceSir Bruce Ingram, OBE, MC (1877-1963), L. 1405a.;Michael Appleby of St James’s, by descent until 2023The extensive shorthand reads: [upper left]‘Masula boat leaving with water carried to ships in the roads /’, [upper right]‘The sky… / … not out’, ‘The wet foam of the surfThe light part of the picture / ‘, [lower left]; ‘Sand’; [lower right] ‘This part not the surfBoat all wet / all the figures reflected in stronger /The colour is to(o) ex... the same as the sea’.There was no harbour at Madras at this time so the masula boats had to row a long distance out from the shore to the Indiamen anchored out in the ‘roads'. The figures are a combination of boatmen and women with waterpots on their heads, loading the boat with water for the ships. The flat-bottomed masula boats, made from planks of mango wood sewn together with coconut fibres, were used to row passengers to and from the ships as well as for supplies. During the western monsoon season at the end of the year the surf could be quite violent and if the flag on the flagstaff of Fort St. George was lowered, ships were unloaded of cargo or passengers at their own risk.Chinnery arrived in Madras in 1802 and was to stay for four and a half years. The lively draughtsmanship shown in the present drawing is typical of his style at this period.Sir Bruce Ingram was a journalist and editor of ‘The Illustrated London News’ from 1900. He was particularly interested in marine drawings and collected over three thousand, including over six hundred drawings by the Van de Velde. For further information about his collecting see Luke Herrmann and Michael Robinson, 'Burlington Magazine', May 1963, 'Sir Bruce Ingram as a collector of drawings'.

Watercolour on laid paper, with exhibition label attached to backboard15 x 32.5 cm.; 6 x 12 3⁄4 inchesProvenanceMiss Bostock, companion to Miss H.H. Tatlock, the artist’s granddaughter;Christie’s, 12 September 1941, lot 29;Where purchased by Thomas Agnew & Son Ltd., London;Sold to a private collector 18 May 1942;Private collection, Wiltshire until 2023ExhibitedUsher Art Gallery Lincoln, Peter De Wint Exhibition, 1937, no. 146Horsemen can be seen in the foreground of this freely drawn, spare landscape, which exemplifies Peter de Wint’s brilliance and delicacy in the laying of washes.