John Frederick Lewis, R.A. Arran

Watercolour with bodycolour, gum arabic and scratching out, in original exhibition frame, the frame numbered No 35, with labels verso, one reading: The capture of a/Spanish Spy/With a Portrait of the Carlist/General-Zumala Carregui/(in red cap & trousers)/By Lewis R.A.53.2 x 72.5 cm; 21 x 29 inchesProvenanceSir Arthur Ernest Blake;Possibly Evelyn Isabel Bond née Blake;By family descent to Major-General Mark Bond, OBE, (1922-2017) of Moigne Combe, Dorchester, Dorset;By family descent until 2019ExhibitedSociety of Painters in Water Colours, 1837, no.316 A Spy of the Christino Army brought before the Carlist General in Chief, Zumalacarregui; Royal Academy Winter Exhibition 1891, no.138 CAPTURE OF A SPANISH SPY. [lent by] Arthur Blake EsqLiteratureLiterary Gazette, 1837, no.1058, April 29, pp. 272-73;Athenaeum, 1837, p. 308;The Spectator Vol. 10, week ending April 29, 1837, p.402;Art Journal 38, 1858, p.42, illus. p.41;William Sandby, The History of the Royal Academy of Arts, from its Foundation in 1758 to the Present Time. With Biographical Notices of All the Members, London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts; Green, 1862, vol. ii, p.340;Illustrated London News, 25 March 1865, p.285;Athenaeum;Obituary, p.278;The Graphic, Obituary, 26 August 1876, p.204;Morning Post 3 January 1889;John Lewis Roget, A History of the ‘Old Water-Colour’ Society now the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours, London & New York: Longmans, Green, and Co, 1891, vol. 2, bk. 8, p.138;Claude Phillips, ‘John Frederick Lewis, R.A.’, in the Portfolio, Philip Gilbert Hamerton ed., London: Seeley ; Co., 1892, p.93;The Old Water-Colour Society’s Club 1925-1926 vol. iii, 1926, p.33;Hugh Stokes, ‘John Frederick Lewis R.A. (1805-1876)’, Walkers Quarterly, No. 28, London: Walker’s Galleries, 1929, p.18;Brinsley Ford, ‘J.F.Lewis and Richard Ford in Seville’, 1832-33, The Burlington Magazine, May 1942, pp.128;Nicholas Tromans, ‘J. F. Lewis’s Carlist War subjects’, The Burlington Magazine vol. cxxxix, no.1136, November 1997, pp.760-762, illus. fig 48. (the print)EngravedBy C.G. Lewis, 1840, published May 1, 1840 by Hodgson & Graves, 6 Pall Mall; the final state, etched and engraved by F.C. and C.G. Lewis, published in 1841The rediscovery of this major watercolour by J.F. Lewis, famous in its day, after 128 years, is the cause of some excitement. The artist often dealt in the unexpected, and the unusual nature of this picture is best described in his own words which accompanied it when he exhibited it at the Society of Painters in Water Colours in 1837: "no.316 A Spy of the Christino Army brought before the Carlist General in Chief, Zumalacárregui. In the Basque provinces, Navarre, &c. the present seat of civil war in Spain, the peasantry were constantly pressed into the service of the contending powers to convey intelligence from one general to another. It is needless to add, that when taken by the opposite party, they were instantly shot. The present subject represents the arrest of a peasant and his family. A monk is shewing to the Carlist chief, Zumalacárregui, (who is standing at a table to the left of the picture) the dispatches found upon him. The portrait of the general has been done from sketches and descriptions kindly given to the artist by Captain Henningsen, his late aide-de-camp. He is dressed simply in the red cap, and zamarra, or jacket of sheepskin, worn ordinarily by him, in common with all classes of the Basque provinces, and indeed he was remarkable for his total neglect of military costume. To his left is his secretary, and behind him is an aide-de-camp. The priest is supposed to be the celebrated Curé Merino, &;c. &;c.See ‘A Twelvemonth’s Campaign with Zumalucarregui’, by Capt. Henningsen. For price apply to Mr. Lewis, 78 Wimpole Street, Sold order of Mr. Lewis.” The first Carlist war was fought from 1833 to 1840, between the supporters of the Regent, Maria Christina, (hence the term Cristinos) acting for the infant Queen Isabella II of Spain, and those of the late King's Ferdinand VII’s brother, Carlos de Borbón (hence Carlists). The Carlists invoked Salic Law in order to promote an autocratic monarchy espousing ‘God, Country and King’, whereas Isabella had Liberal supporters. After the proclamation of Don Carlos's bid for the throne, the progress of the conflict was eagerly followed in Britain, and, as with the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, divided opinion, and attracted participants on both sides from other countries. The fighting in the first war was mainly carried out in the Basque Country, Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia. It continued over the course of the nineteenth century, with two further wars, and into the twentieth century, as a minor aspect of the origins of the Spanish Civil War. As Lewis described above, Captain Charles Frederick Henningsen, (1815-1877), of Danish and Irish descent, volunteered and served as an aide-de-camp to General Tomás de Zumalacárregui e Imaz, the Basque leader of the Carlist forces. After successfully publishing his controversial book about his experiences in the war, Henningsen met Lewis in London or Paris, where the artist apparently hatched the plan to paint a topical modern history work, featuring Henningsen, the controversial figure of Zumalacárregui, and the sanguinary priest, the Cura Merino. Lewis obtained some rough pen and ink annotated sketches from Henningsen, two of which, wrongly attributed to Lewis himself, are part of a group of sketches bequeathed to the V&A by Marian Lewis in 1908, and another, a pen and ink sketch of Zumalacárregui (also traditionally wrongly attributed to Lewis), is in a private collection. Henningsen probably also gave Lewis the famous red cap worn by Zumalacárregui, which was last seen as lot 518 in Lewis’ studio sale, (Christie’s, 4 May 1877), described as Crimson cloth hat of Zumalacaraguy. The artist had returned from Spain in 1833, before the hostilities had started in earnest. As Lewis had never met the principal protagonists, he relied on Henningsen to provide the information and some annotated sketches of them. At least parts of this picture appear to have been painted in Paris. William Callow, who did not return to Britain from France until 1841 recalled, many years later, that :‘On several occasions I posed for him as a model, once for my ear, and on another occasion wearing a cap of Zumalacarrequi [sic], a Spanish chieftain' (W. Callow: An Autobiography, ed. H.M.Cundall, London [1908], pp.26-27). However, it seems likely that the aged Callow may have been conflating more than one visit to Paris by Lewis. Lewis has been given the popular epithet Spanish Lewis, for successfully exhibiting and selling a large number of watercolours of Spain and its peoples. Lewis's friend and mentor, David Wilkie, had set a precedent for modern history painting of this type, with the Defence of Saragossa, (1828) and, in particular, The Spanish Posada: A Guerrilla Council of War (1828, both Royal Collection), both of which depict scenes from the Napoleonic Wars. Although the picture was conceived as a relatively simple dramatic tableau, Lewis characteristically gave the protagonists subtle expressions appropriate to their roles. General Zumalacárregui in his red cap, cigarette in hand, is shown with his customary stern demeanour, heightened by his grim expression on seeing the evidence. Seated in the centre is the priest and army commander, Cura Jerónimo Merino Cob, who like Zumalacárregui, had fought as a merciless guerrilla leader in the Peninsular wars. He holds up the damning dispatches, his face a picture of sinister, quiet triumph, as he shows the evidence that will condemn the forlorn prisoner, who is consumed with conflicting disbelief at his imminent fate. The expression of confusion of the puzzled little boy and the abject sadness of his mother, the prisoner's wife, add to the tension of the scene. To the left is a portrait of Captain Henningsen in profile, in a dark green uniform, his massive chest appropriate for a cavalry officer of the time. Even the dog seems to be aware of the acute tension in the room. Like many of Lewis's paintings, the present work was favourably reviewed in the contemporary press. However, there is also the ambiguity found in many of his other pictures. Depending on your point of view, it can be seen as an illustration of the ruthless cruelty of the Carlist General Zumalacárregui and the tragedy of the unfortunate spy and his family, or, as in Henningsen’s eyes, it could reflect the stern nature and skill of the General, and the legitimacy of his cause. In 1838, Lewis exhibited another scene from the Carlist Wars, entitled 'The Pillage of a Convent, in Spain, by Guerilla Soldiers' (private collection). The subject of ‘The Spy’ became well known as it was widely circulated by a large etching and mezzotint made by the artist's father, F.C. Lewis, and his brother, C.G. Lewis, with the more emotive title, ‘The Spanish Wife’s Last Appeal’, and issued from 1840 through to final publication in June 1841. The Art Union (June,1840, p.92) records the print: 'Zamalacarrecui and the Christino Spy: Of this print, too, an etching has been issued. It is in process of engraving by J. F. Lewis;[sic] from one of the most famous pictures of his brother. The scene it depicts has been common enough during the civil war in Spain; the Guerilla chief is represented ordering off to execution a Christino spy, whose wife intercedes in vain for his pardon. The doomed man is led away, between guards; while the famous Cure Merino produces the written proof of his guilt. Behind Zamalacarregui [sic] is the English Captain Heinengen,[sic] the chronicler of his exploits. The subject is well composed; skilfully grouped; and conveys an impressive idea of a frightful passage in a most appalling and revolting war. The likeness of the great Carlist leader is said to be a striking one—it is the portrait of a man of great energy, but of merciless character, from whose sentence there is no appeal. The print will be interesting because of its novelty, as well as its merits as a work of art'. The mistakes in the names in the Art Journal article might be because the printers could not read the unfamiliar names in the handwriting of the Art Union correspondent - often the case with newspapers of the time. There was considerable contemporary public indignation in Britain at the savage treatment of spies on both sides in the Carlist War. Lewis also made four studies for at least one other Carlist war picture, never realized, allegedly titled 'The Proclamation of Don Carlos'. One of these, now in the collection of the Morgan Library & Museum, New York (1977.31), shows Zumalacárregui in the same pose, but commanding at a battle or siege. Zumalacárregui’s family home in the Basque country, Spain, is now a museum devoted to him, the Museo Zumalakarregi in Ormaiztegi (Gipuzkoa). The collection includes pieces from the Carlist Wars, personal and military belongings of Tomás Zumalacárregui and his family as well as other material from the period. The general has been credited with the invention of the tortilla or Spanish omelette. Apparently during the Bilbao siege in 1835 he created it to feed his troops. Legend also has it that Zumálacarregui copied the recipe from a peasant woman who gave him dinner on one occasion. To be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the work of J.F. Lewis by the late Briony Llewellyn and Charles Newton. We are most grateful to Charles Newton for assistance with this footnote.

Henry Pilleau (1813-1899)The Dead SeaSigned with monogram l.l., watercolour 21 x 38 cm.; 8 ¼ x 15 inchesProvenancePresented to Queen Victoria in 1887 for her Golden Jubilee by the Royal Society of Water-Colour PaintersPilleau served with 16th Lancers. He is best known for his colourful watercolours and prints of Egypt. He visited Egypt in 1840s with Lieutenant -Colonel Sir George Everest (1790-1866), Surveyor-General of India, presumably on the men’s way to India. Pilleau’s ‘Sketches in Egypt’ comprising 12 lithographs was published in London in 1845 by Dickinson and dedicated to Everest. It comprises text and colourful plates of famous views and sites. Everest, a Welsh surveyor and geographer, after whom Mount Everest was named, served as the Surveyor General of India (1830–1843) and worked on the Great Trigonometric Survey of India.This watercolour left the Royal collection in the early twentieth century together with a substantial number of other works on paper, and there is no documentation for this with the Royal Collection. The other works whose details are recorded on the sheet of Windsor notepaper attached to the backboard were also dispersed at this time ( from the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art gift, Llyn Crafnant by D.W. Barker (the rendering of his name as ‘Banken’ suggests that someone was inaccurately copying from another source); Time-Honoured Lancaster by R. Aspinwall; and A Breezy Day by R. Short).

Oil on paper laid down on board, inscribed on reverse of board: George Mason ARA and stamped with a Christie’s stencil21 x 21 cm.; 8 ¼ x 8 ¼ inchesProvenanceThe artist’s studio sale, Christie’s, 15 February 1873, lot 91, where bought byGeorge Dunlop Leslie, RA (1835-1921); his daughter Lydia Leslie, By descent to T. L. Twidell ExhibitedStoke-on-Trent Museum & Art Gallery, George Heming Mason, 1982, cat. no 20 (ill) (lent by T.W. Twidell). ExhibitedGeorge Heming Mason, City Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent, 1 May – 12 June 1982; Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, 26 June – 31 July, The Fine Art Society, London 9 August – 4 September, cat. 20 (ill.)The sympathetic white horse is yoked in the Italian manner in this lively oil sketch and can be presumed to have been executed in Italy.

Inscribed on original label now attached to backboard: General Distant View of the Carnarvonshire Mountains, seen from the road beyond Llangerniew,/going by the Vale of the Elwyn from St Asaph to Llanrwst-Principal in this Towering Group, are Moel Siabod, Snowdon, The Glyders/ and Trevaon Denbighshire, watercolour over pencil.13 x 20.8 cm.; 5 1/8 x 8 ¼ inchesProvenanceGeorge Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick (1746-1816), no. 17, part of an album sold at Sotheby’s, 17 June 1936;With Leger Galleries, 1980; Christie’s, London, 20 November 1984, lot 113, where bought by a private collector, until 2024Smith seems to have been fascinated by the Welsh countryside and dated drawings, often inscribed ‘taken on the spot’, point to visits nearly every year from 1784-1798, after his return from Italy.The artist was born in Cumberland and patronised by 2nd Earl of Warwick who sponsored his travels to Italy in 1776 and whose name became the artist’s sobriquet. Smith spent five years in Rome and Naples, befriending William Pars and Thomas Jones, in whose Memoirs he is frequently referenced. He travelled home in 1781 through Switzerland with Francis Towne and was among the most admired watercolourists of his day.

Charles Gore (1729-1807)A view of the East front of Arundel Castle, West Sussex, seen from the Bowling GreenInscribed l. r.: Arundel Castle taken from the Platform or/Bowling Green by Charles Gore Esq 1781 and indistinctly inscribed in pencil u. r.: Arundel Castle Sufsex/1781Watercolour over touches of pencil on laid paper, with a Whatman watermark19.6 by 49 cm., 7 ¾ by 19 ¼ inchesProvenanceIolo Williams (1890-1962); And by descent until sold Sotheby's, London, 13 July 1989, lot 5; Private collection;With Guy Peppiatt Fine ArtThe bowling green is the name for the square earthworks located, with the fishponds, on the east side of the castle. They were probably made originally to improve the castle’s defences during the Civil War. Used as a bowling green in eighteenth century, as shown in the drawing by Charles Gore, today a rose garden can be found here. The Hon. Charles Gore was the son of a Lincolnshire landowner and educated at Westminster. He married a wealthy heiress of a shipbuilding company and learnt to draw and design ships. Gore travelled extensively in Europe, sketching with the German artist Jacob Philipp Hackert (1737-1807). Gore copied marine oils, completed the unfinished drawings of other artists, and also developed his own style having acquired an expert knowledge of the sea. His interest in classical antiquities led Charles Gore to join Hackert and Richard Payne Knight on their expedition to Sicily from April to June 1777.In 1779 Gore returned to England and became a member of the Dilettanti Society in 1781. He painted a series of panoramic views of Sussex including the current drawing. The family returned to the Continent in 1782 and he settled in Weimar in 1791 with his daughter Eliza. Examples of Gore's work can be found in the British Museum, the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich and the Goethe-Nationalmuseum, Weimar.

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.

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.

Signed l.c.: E. Lear, pencil with watercolour, pen and black ink and touches of gold17.7 x 23 cm.; 7 x 9 inchesThese charming, quirky drawings are characteristic early works by Lear, dating from the late 1820s or early 1830s when he was establishing himself as an ornithological artist. They relate to a group of drawings which Lear gave to Mrs Godfrey Wentworth, who supported his employment by the Zoological Society in 1831, and whom he credited with launching him as an artist. They are imaginary, fanciful subjects drawn with not a little humour, resembling the stylised watercolours of birds painted on late eighteenth century porcelain. Robert McCracken Peck has made the interesting suggestion that Lear and his sister Ann may have been thinking of approaching ceramics companies with them (see Robert McCracken Peck, The Natural History of Edward Lear, 2016, pp. 27-9).Two surviving family albums from the late 1820s, containing a mixture of similar natural history subjects by Edward Lear and his sisters Ann and Sarah, are in the collection of the Houghton Library, Harvard University (MS Typ 55.4 and 55.27).Sir Edward Strachey was a man of letters and friend of Lear’s, who wrote an introduction to Nonsense Songs in 1895. He lived at Sutton Court, Chew Magna in Somerset and was a neighbour of Lear’s close friend Chichester Fortescue, the Liberal politician whom Lear first met in Rome in 1845.

Pencil9 x 15 cm.; 3 ½ x 6 inchesProvenanceThe artist's studio sale, Christie's, 8 - 15 May 1874, bt. by Thomas Agnew & Sons Ltd. (23366);J.M.M., a Christmas present from C. 1962

Pen and grey ink and wash, inscribed verso and dated: Kerswell Oct.3.181223.7 x 37 cm.; 9 ¼ x 14 ½ inchesProvenancePrivate collection, U.K. until 2025Kerswell is a hamlet in the Teignbridge district of Devon north-east of Exeter.