Sir Gerald Festus Kelly, P.R.A. A shop selling metalware, Cairo

Sir Gerald Festus Kelly, P.R.A. (British 1879-1972)The Great Wall of ChinaOil on boardExhibitedMartyn Gregory Gallery, ‘Modern British Painters’, October 1988, Catalogue no. 52, no. 34This is a study for a painting of the same size of the Great Wall of China exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy, 1938, no.45 and the Royal Academy, London, Exhibition of Works by Sir Gerald Kelly, 1957, no.231.Born in London of Irish descent, Kelly was educated at Cambridge University, later living and studying art in Paris where he met Degas, Monet, Renoir and Sickert. Whistler was also an early influence as were Cézanne and Gaugin. Kelly was an enthusiastic traveller, visiting amongst other countries China, Spain, America, South Africa and Burma, where he painted some of his most characteristic and charming figure studies. He became a successful society portraitist whose sitters included Somerset Maugham, whom he painted several times, and he undertook numerous state portraits. Kelly is represented in many public collections, including the Tate, which holds seven works. He had retrospective exhibitions at the Leicester Galleries in 1950 and in 1957 at the RA. He was elected RA in 1930, was the Academy's Keeper from 1943-45 and President, defeating Augustus John in the election, from 1949-54. Kelly held a number of official positions, such as membership of the Royal Fine Arts Commission, 1938-43, and was knighted in 1945. Between 1909 and 1970 Kelly exhibited over 300 works at the RA. During his lifetime his work became well known through popular prints.

KT 173Signed l.r.: STANLEY INCHBOLD, watercolour over traces of pencil37.3 x 26.5 cm; 14 5/8 x 10 3/8 inchesFramed in a gilt moulding 52 x 41.3 cm.; 20 ½ x 16 ¼ inchesStanley Inchbold studied art under Sir Hurbert von Herkomer. He exhibited at the leading London galleries from 1884, namely at the Royal Academy and New Watercolour Society, and was also a member of the Royal Society of British Artists. He became a skilled landscape painter in both watercolour and oil, and travelled to paint all over Europe, America and North Africa. During the first twenty years of the twentieth century he produced many beautiful book illustrations and illustrated A.C. Inchbold's - Under the Syrian Sun (1906) and Lisbon and Cintra (1907). Other publications included A Beckett, The Spirit of the Downs (1909) and G.N. Whittingham The Home of Fadeless Splendour (1921).In The Literary World, 1906 Inchbold’s work was praised, ‘We do not remember to have seen before any such attempt as Mr. Inchbold makes to represent the wonderful variety of continually changing colour that is peculiar to the Holy Lands. Though these watercolours have their purely artistic value, they are specially interesting because of the vivid and sympathetic way in which they represent the cities and landscape of Palestine’.This is one of the most beautiful and impressive gates among the gates of the wall of Jerusalem, which was built under Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. This is a central gate in the wall which faces north towards Nablus and Damascus. In Arabic it is called “Bab El Amud” (“the gate of the pillar”), probably after the pillar that stood at the centre of the gate’s courtyard during the Romano-Byzantine era. Turban-like decorations decorate the gate, and due to its importance, many observations points and guard towers were built there.During the Roman era, a stone-paved courtyard was added and at its centre stood the statue of the emperor. Two streets started from this courtyard, leading towards the south. To this day, two main streets split from Damascus Gate, preserving the Roman structure of this area: the right street is the Khan A- Zeit or Beit Habad street, and the left street is El Wad Street- or Hagai, commercial streets that cross the city from north to south.

Signed with initials l.l., watercolour over pencil with touches of bodycolour on grey paper17 x 26 cm.; 6 ¾ x 10 ¼ inchesExhibitedLeger Galleries, London, November 1973;Private collection U.K. until 2022The second son of Hercules Sharpe, the artist was educated at Harrow. After leaving Cambridge where he read Maths he decided to become an artist and studied in Rome for three years. On the death of his elder brother he inherited the Brabazon estates (and name) in Ireland. He spent his summers in England and his winters travelling in Europe and, from the 1860s, further afield. The artist visited India three times, in 1870, 1875 and 1876.In 1891 Sargent persuaded him to have an exhibition at the Goupil Gallery and, as a result, in his old age he was at the forefront of the modern movement.

Duncan Grant (1885-1978)The Blue TableclothSigned and dated l.l.: D. Grant/32, oil on canvas boardProvenanceThomas Agnew & Sons, London (7524); sold toIsobel Jeans, 20 July 1932;Wyndham T. Vint, Bradford;Christie’s London, 16 July 2014, lot 102 where bought by the present ownerGrant’s painting style was influenced by the French Post-Impressionist exhibitions organized in London by Roger Fry in 1910. He painted still lifes throughout his life, constantly juxtaposing different objects, fruit and plants on a tabletop. Here the skillfully painted blue tablecloth provides a backdrop to the carefully arranged bowl of fruit with black grapes, bananas and apples juxtaposed with a bottle, seen in many of his still lifes. A couple of red roses balance the composition. This still life was most probably painted at Charleston, Grant’s home in Sussex which he shared with Vanessa Bell. He moved there with his lover David Garnett and Bell’s two children Julian and Quentin. Their father Clive Bell was a frequent visitor, although he kept his permanent home in London. Agnew’s sold many paintings for Duncan Grant over the course of his lifetime.

Inscribed l.r.: Bruges, watercolour7.6 x 11.4 cm; 3 x 4½ inchesProvenanceSpink & Son Ltd, London, K3/1890b, part of a group purchased from Appleby Brothers, 2 August 1960.This spontaneous, on-the-spot sketch was presumably done when Cox visited Bruges in 1826. His first trip to the Continent was organised by his brother-in-law Mr Gardener, an agent for the sale of government ordnance maps who had premises at 163 Regent Street, London. Gardener persuaded Cox and his son David Cox Jr to accompany him on a business trip to Brussels. The party travelled from Dover to Calais and then, travelling by diligence, on to Dunkerque, Bruges and Brussels. Cox evidently liked the caps worn by the market women in Belgium as he sketched them again in Brussels.1 1.See N. Neil Solly, Memoir of the Life of David Cox, 1873, reprinted 1973, p. 49.

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.: Ponte Nomentano. June 21st. Rome, watercolour over pencil, stamped with Michael Ingram’s collector’s mark on old mount12.5 x 17.5 cm.; 4 7/8 x 6 7/8 inches, framed size 27 x 32 cm.; 10 1/2 x 12 1/2 inchesProvenanceBought in Bath by Michael Ingram, his sale at Sotheby’s 8 December 2005, lot 236, where bought for a princely collection in the Middle East until December 2024Roberts visited Rome and Naples in 1853. He greatly enjoyed Rome and produced many drawings and oil paintings as a result of his stay.The bridge was erected at the point where the via Nomentana crossed the Aniene river, a tributary of the Tiber, at the foot of Monte Sacro. Roberts drew the large travertine arch and the medieval crenelated fortification. Restored several times over the centuries, it was much painted by visiting artists.Michael Ingram inherited his passion for collecting drawings from his uncle Sir Bruce Ingram, OBE, MC (1877-1963, L. 1405a) and modelled his collector’s mark on that of his uncle.

Signed, inscribed and dated l.r.: Cave on the Island/of Elephanta/Dec 9th. 69 and further signed by another, watercolour over pencil.The artist visited the famous Hindu temple carved into the rockface on the island of Elephanta. Constructed between the fifth and sixth century, the temple is part of the ‘City of Caves’ devoted to the cult of Shiva.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

KT633Fragments of a colossal statue at the Memnonium, Thebes Signed l.l.: 'David Roberts. R.A.' and inscribed and dated 'Memnonium, Thebes Dec. 5th, 1838', further inscribed l.r.: 'Dimensions of the statue/Between the shoulders [?] 26 feet/Circumference of the Head 54"/Shoulder to the elbow 13" [5]', watercolour over pencil heightened with bodycolour on blue-grey paper 32.7 x 48.9 cm; 12 7/8 x 19 ¼ inchesPROVENANCEPossibly David Roberts; Christie's, London, 13-20 May, 1865, lot 67 as 'Thebes: Fragments of the Colossus of Rameses'; Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 15 March 1990, lot 42; with Spink, London, 1990; Christie's, London, 16 November 2006, lot 128This temple on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor, was visited twice by Roberts during his voyage on the Nile in 1838. On the outward journey, on the way to Abu Simbel, he had visited all the temples on both sides of the Nile at Luxor, and on 21 October hired donkeys to visit the ruins at Gurnah on the west bank, noting in his journal: 'The head and shoulders of the Memnon lying on the ground is enormous one can only wonder how it got there - the trouble of dislodging it must have been almost equal to the erection ...'.The present drawing was executed on the return journey when he was on the west bank of the river at Luxor from 3 to 5 December 1838. Roberts noted in his Journal 'I have been very industrious today, thanks to a Thunder Storm, a most uncommon thing in this part of the world - The sun was quite obscured and the peals of thunder were very loud accompanied with rain.... Made four large coloured sketches two of the Memnonium and two of Medinet Habou.' (Eastern Journal, National Library of Scotland).The present drawing was executed on the spot, although it is possible that the colouring was completed later during the trip. This drawing was used as the basis for the drawing which was eventually lithographed.This temple was called the Memnonium or the Tomb of Osymandyas, one of the names of Rameses II, the king to whom it was dedicated. It is now more commonly known as the Ramesseum and is the temple from which another colossal head was taken to the British Museum, where it inspired Shelley's famous sonnet Ozymandias.

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.