Botanical

Signed with initials l.l.: E.A., watercolour over traces of pencil heightened with bodycolour and stopping out, with touches of red chalk, in a period burr maple frameSheet 38.9 x 27.6 cm.; 15 ¼ x 10 ¾ inches, painted area 33 x 18 cm.; 13 x 7 inchesProvenanceChristie’s, London, 3 February 2000, lot 160;Sotheby’s, Gleneagles, 30 August 2000, lot 1153;Private collection, London until 2023Alexander is best known for his exquisite watercolours of flora, fauna and the natural world.Alexander studied at the Royal Institution, Edinburgh from 1887-8, and in Paris with the sculptor Emmanuel Frémier.In 1887-8 the artist travelled to Tangier with his father and fellow artists Pollock Nisbet and Joseph Crawhall. He returned to Egypt in 1892 and lived there for four years. After his return he married Dora, moved to just outside Musselburgh, and created a menagerie that he used for his work. Plants remained important subjects for his painting and, in 1909, he illustrated J. H. Crawford’s The Wild Flowers.In 1902 Alexander was elected an associate of the Royal Scottish Academy becoming a full member in 1913. He exhibited widely including at the Royal Scottish Academy, Royal Academy, Fine Art Society, Royal Watercolour Society and the Leicester Galleries.Alexander’s work is held in the Tate Gallery, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Dundee Art Gallery and by Fife Council.

Signed l.l.: H C Coleman Angell., watercolour over traces of pencil with touches of bodycolour and gum arabic23 x 32.3 cm.; 9 x 12 ½ inchesProvenanceJohn Abbott (1937-2011)The artist was anointed as his successor by William Henry Hunt whose enthusiasm for still life subjects she shared. This work can be dated to 1874-1784 as she married and took the name of her husband in 1874. Her later style was looser than her early work.She was the fifth daughter of twelve children of Henrietta Dendy and William Thomas Coleman, a physician and was schooled at home. Along with her sister, the pottery artist Rose Rebecca Coleman, she was taught painting and drawing by her older brother William Coleman who kept an art pottery studio in South Kensington and whom she helped make designs for Minton.Her early watercolours were first exhibited in the Dudley Gallery in London in 1864 thanks to the connections of her brother William.She married Thomas William Angell, a postmaster and an amateur artist, on 15 October 1874. The following year she joined the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours but resigned after she became an A.O.W.S.Angell became Flower Painter in Ordinary to Queen Victoria from 1879 until her death, succeeding Valentine Bartholomew.Her work can be found in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Royal Albert Museum, Exeter and other public collections.

Signed l.l.: HC Coleman, watercolour over traces of pencil with touches of bodycolour and gum arabic, in the original frame32.4 x 19.5 cm.; 17 3⁄4 x 12 3⁄4 inchesProvenanceJ.W. Vokins, 10 King Street, St James’s, London; Christie’s London, 26 June 1931, lot 5 (?); Private collection, U.K. until 2021This delightful still life is an accomplished early work which can be dated to before 1874, when the artist married and took the name of her husband Thomas Angell. It reflects the artist’s interest in pottery.Helen was the fifth daughter of twelve children of Henrietta Dendy and William Thomas Coleman, a physician and was schooled at home. Along with her sister, the pottery artist Rose Rebecca Coleman, she was taught painting and drawing by her older brother William Coleman who kept an art pottery studio in South Kensington and whom she helped make designs for Minton.Her early watercolours were first exhibited in the Dudley Gallery in London in 1864, thanks to the connections of her brother William.She married Thomas William Angell, a postmaster and an amateur artist, on 15 October 1874. The following year she joined the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours but resigned after she became an Associate of the Society of Painters in Water-Colour.Angell became Flower Painter in Ordinary to Queen Victoria from 1879 until her death, succeeding Valentine Bartholomew. She is said to have been anointed as his successor by William Henry Hunt, whose enthusiasm for still life subjects she shared.The artist’s work can be found in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Royal Albert Museum, Exeter and other public collections.

Signed l.r. Marian/M. Chase 1874, watercolour over traces of pencil with touches of white and gum arabic, in a period sand frame20 x 29.2 cm.; 8 1/8 x 11 1⁄2 inchesChase specialised in depicting flowers, fruit and still lifes, her work characterised by delicacy and careful observation. Ellen Claxton, in her seminal work English Female Artists, London, 1876, Vol. 2, p. 184, described Chase as ‘having an intense love of the country and of wild flowers...her chief pictures have been the simple growing flowers of woods and lanes’.The artist was born in London, the daughter of John Chase, an artist, and his second wife, Georgiana. John Chase had been partly trained by John Constable and his first wife, Mary Ann Rix (d. 1840), had also been a watercolour artist. Chase was taught perspective and watercolour painting by her father and life drawing by Margaret Gillies (1803-1907), who was not only an artist but also a pioneer of women’s liberation, and amongst the earliest supporters of the suffrage movement.She exhibited from 1866 to 1905 at the Royal Academy, the Royal Society of British Artists, the Royal Institute, the Dudley Gallery, the Grosvenor Gallery, the International Exhibition of 1871 and various provincial, colonial, and foreign exhibitions. On 22 March 1875, she was elected an associate of the Institute of Painters in Water Colours, and in 1879 she became a full member. In 1878 she contributed drawings and watercolours to the journal The Garden. In 1888 the Royal Horticultural Society awarded her a silver medal.Chase died in 1905 after a heart operation and is buried in St Pancras Cemetery.Examples of her work can be found in the Victoria & Albert Museum and in the collection of Aberdeen Art Gallery.

Signed l.r.: W HUNT, watercolour with bodycolour on artist’s board16 x 20.3 cm; 6 1/4 x 8 inchesPrimroses were a favourite subject of Hunt’s, and one which he frequently exhibited in the 1840s and 1850s.Hunt was born with a deformation of his legs which restricted his movement and he worked mainly from the studio, as painting outside was difficult for him. He specialised in carefully drawn smale-scale still lifes like this one as a result and pioneered new techniques of watercolour, using stipple techniques in subtle colour combinations and achieving a brightness of colour by overlaying washes over white gouache.

This group of nineteen distinctive depictions of fruit and vegetables from South-East Asia are inscribed with titles in Indian English (possibly in Romanised Hindi) and drawn on European laid paper which is variously watermarked. There are three different numbering systems on the sheets. Many of the fruit and vegetables, such as the durian, are more commonly found in South-East Asia rather than on the Indian subcontinent, suggesting that it is possible that the drawings may have been made for a European patron in South-East Asia. Stylistically the drawings have many of the characteristics of the ‘Straits School’, a hybrid Indo-Chinese style.The accumulation of natural history drawings by officials of the British East India Company gave rise to the term ‘Company School’, now out of favour, which has been used to describe the work of Indian or Chinese artists for British patrons. The distinctive style is a result of a fusion of two artistic traditions, the European with its desire for realism and the Asian taste for a more stylised approach. The work of Chinese artists is rarer than that of Indian artists and tends to be a little later in date.British patrons commissioned local artists to draw the flora and fauna of India and other areas of South-East Asia. Such work is typically annotated with botanical notes in native script, romanised versions of native descriptions, Latin and with reference to the Linnaean system of classification, created by Carl Linnaeus (1707-78).The eighteenth and early nineteenth century saw an enormous rise of interest in Europe in the study of natural history by both scientists and amateurs. A knowledge of the subject was considered to be an important part of a liberal education and many people studied ‘natural philosophy’ and the various branches of natural history. Accurate drawings were vital tools in classification as well as a reminder of the excited reaction to new discoveries being made all over the known world.The collecting of specimens was the basis of most natural history drawings, plants were pressed and dried and the drawings recorded the specimen in its living shape and colours.This group of fruit and vegetables are found in various parts of South-East Asia. Some are common others are less well known.The collection is presented mounted in a hand-made solander box.Brinjala (Aubergine)Inscribed l.r.: Brinjala and numbered ninety-five, N106 and 96, watercolour, bodycolour and gum arabic on wove paper31.7 x 20.5 cm.; 12 ½ x 8 1/8 inchesAubergine is known as brinjal in South-East Asia.MangosteenInscribed l.r.: mongostan, numbered ninety-seven. N 97 and 101, watercolour and gum arabic on laid paper watermarked IFD31.7 x 20.5 cm.; 12 ½ x 8 1/8 inchesMangosteens grow in South East Asia, particularly in Indonesia. It is a juicy, slightly acidic fruit and it is also used in traditional medicine.Ratahouli (pepper)Inscribed l.c.: Ratahouli, numbered ninety-five, N107 and 1010, watercolour and gum arabic on laid paper watermarked HIS/GD33 x 23 cm.; 13 x 9 inchesCashewInscribed Rajab, numbered ninety-eight, N109 and 1012, watercolour and gum arabic on laid paper33 x 23 cm.; 13 x 9 inchesThe cashew tree is a tropical evergreen tree that produces the cashew seed and the cashew accessory fruit. The nut can be seen growing from the bottom of the fruits in the drawing, both green and then brown once it has ripened.Jambu Air (Szygium Aqueum)Inscribed l.c.: jambol, numbered A Hundred, N111 and 1019, watercolour and gum arabic on laid paper watermarked HIS33 x 23 cm.; 13 x 9 inchesThis is a special of the brush cherry tree; its common names include watery rose apple and bell fruit.ChilliInscribed l.r.: fjoli, numbered ninety-one, N100 and 105, watercolour and gum arabic on laid paper watermarked with a crest33 x 23 cm.; 13 x 9 inchesPomegranateInscribed l.r. ramangh, numbered A hundred and three, N114 and 1019, watercolour and gum arabic on laid paper watermarked HIS33 x 23 cm.; 13 x 9 inchesPapayaWatercolour and gum arabic inscribed l.r. papaya, numbere ninety-nine, N100 and 1013, on laid paper watermarked with a crest32.5 x 23 cm.; 12 ½ x 9 inchesDurianInscribed l.r.: doorian, numbered eighty-five, N94 and 96, watercolour and gum arabic on laid paper32.7 x 23 cm.; 12 ¾ x 9 inchesThe durian, with its spiny outer shell and moist, pungent flesh can weigh up to seven pounds. These large fruits grow on trees, have a short period of ripeness and their cultivation is difficult.The durian is famously not allowed on public transport in Singapore on account of its unpleasant smell.Lobed tropical tomatoInscribed l.r.: samati, numbered ninety, N100 and 109, watercolour with touches of gum arabic on laid paper32 x 21 cm.; 12 ½ x 8 ¼ inchesBerlimbingInscribed l.r.: blinbingh, numbered A hundred and two, N113 and No 16, on laid paper watermarked HIS33 x 23 cm.; 12 ¾ x 9 inchesBerlimbing, also known as bling bling or berling berling, is a sour fruit used in curries.Buah Chiku (Sapodilla, Chikoo, Sapota or Naseberry)Inscribed l.r.: boa sawa, numbered ninety-three, N104 and 104, watercolour and gum arabic with touches of bodycolour on laid paper partially watermarked with the Strasburg Lily33 x 23 cm.; 13 x 9 inchesThis appears to be Buah Sawo or Chiku, but the identification of this plant is open to question.Ban Branjahr (?)Inscribed l.r.: Ban Branjarh (?), numbered eight eight, N90 and 102, watercolour, bodycolour and gum arabic on laid paper, watermarked31.7 x 20.5 cm.; 12 ½ x 8 1/8 inchesThis plant has not been identified.Lotus Inscribed l.c.: Fratil, numbered ninety-seven, N108 and 1011, watercolour and gum arabic, watermarked with a crest33 x 23 cm.; 13 x 9 inches This drawing shows the lotus head with seeds after it has flowered. It is the seed of plants in the genus Nelumbo and the seeds are used in Asian cooking and traditional medicine.Melon (probably watermelon)Inscribed l.r.: patuka, numbered ninety-two N103 and 106, watercolour and gum arabic on laid paper33 x 23 cm.; 13 x 9 inchesMangoInscribed l.r.: Manga, numbered A Hundred and one, N112 and 1015, watercolour and gum arabic31.7 x 20.5 cm.; 12 ½ x 8 1/8 inchesLonganInscribed l.r.: froita lanja, numbered eight nine, N99 and 103, watercolour and gum arabic on laid paper watermarked with a crest32.2 x 21 cm.; 12 ½ x 8 ¼ inchesRambutanInscribed l.r.: frouita kafri, numbered eighty-six, N96 and 100, watercolour and gum arabic 32 x 21 cm.; 12 ½ x 8 ¼ inchesBuah Gowok (Syzgium polycephalum)Inscribed l.r.: rambutan and numbered eighty-five, watercolour and gum arabic and pencil on laid paper31.7 x 20.5 cm.; 12 ½ x 8 1/8 inches

Watercolour over traces of pencil heightened with gum arabic and white, with framing instructions in pencil, verso, inscribed with title on original label attached to backboard31.6 x 41.4 cm.; 12 ½ x 16 ¼ inchesSee The Nursery for the artist’s biography. Both drawings have a painted marble ledge on which the birds are arranged, a compositional device favoured by the artist and used in Dutch still lifes. The combination of birds and flowers in an elaborate arrangement in this and The Nursery were subjects which Withers favoured in 1840s and a departure from her botanical work. The embossed and moulded milk glass of the vase and urn were popular in the early 19th century and have been beautifully rendered by Withers.The introduction of a window, here delicately drawn with a cracked pane and bubble in the glass, looks back to the Old Masters. The landscape beyond suggests a freedom not enjoyed by the captive birds and is a reminder of the interior world inhabited by women of the mid-Nineteenth century.Withers forms part of a distingished cohort of female artists who drew natural history subjects in inventive and diverse ways. Predecessors such as Rachel Ruysch (1664 - 1750) or Barbara Dietzsch (1706 - 1783) had similarly scientific approaches to their subjects and her work merits consideration in this broader context (see Catherine Powell-Warren, Making her Mark, A History of Women Artists in Europe 1400-1800, 2023, ‘Scientific and Natural Illustration’, p. 225-228).