Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Sale of rare Aubrey Waterfield Painting
EBAY (UK) LISTING - 250977864986
LORD CLARK SAID OF AUBREY WATERFIELD, "Aubrey Waterfield's whole life was devoted to beauty and I imagine that in Aulla he managed to create and enjoy more beauty than is given to most men. He was an under-rated artist - under-rated that is by the world, for anyone of real perception recognised his gifts." Aulla was the place in north-west Tuscany where he bought and restored a 16th C fortress.
LINA WATERFIELD & THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF FLORENCE - Aubrey's spouse, the writer Lina Waterfield, was one of the founders of the British Institute of Florence.
AUBREY WATERFIELD BIOGRAPHY (from Derek Clifford's "English Watercolour Painters") - "Aubrey Waterfield 1874-1944 was a gifted portrait, landscape and flower painter. From 1897 - 1900 he was at the Slade School of Fine Art at the same time as Orpen and Augustus John, winning prizes for figure drawing and figure painting. His tutor, Professor Henry Tonks, described him as "a leading student, a man of great natural ability with a delicate sense of design and colour". Waterfield's main work was centred on Sandwich and Northbourne in East Kent and in Italy at Aulla in the Lunigiana where he owned a castle looking on the Carrara Mountains and the Appenines. Waterfield was little known as a painter during his life for he held very few exhibitions (none - DNB), but following his death a memorial exhibition was held in January, 1945, at the Beaux Arts Gallery in Bruton Street, London, and almost every painting was sold on the opening day. Most of Aubrey Waterfield's pictures are in private hands, but some are held by the Birmingham Art Gallery, the National Trust house of the Trevelyan family at Wallington, Northumberland, the Art Gallery, Walthamstow Town Hall, London E17, and at the Royal Museum and Public Library, Canterbury."
PROVENANCE - The picture was part of the private art collection of the British actor Derek Nimmo who had houses in Kensington and in Easton Maudit, Northamptonshire. When Derek Nimmo died, the painting was sold by public auction through the Northamptonshire auction house Humberts, and bought by a private individual who is a worshipper at the church of St Matthew, Northampton. In 2011 this individual kindly donated the picture to the church for the purpose of having it sold for the benefit of church funds.
THE SUBJECT - Also purchased from the Nimmo estate at the same time was another portrait ( by another artist) the subject of which has been positively identified as the Very Revd. Ernald Lane, MA DD, Dean of Rochester partly because there is a representation of the Lane family coat of arms in the picture. The subject of the Waterfield portrait shows many points of similarity, the differences possibly being attributed to the different artists, and the different age of the subject at the times of painting. The likelihood of the subject having a Kentish association is high because Waterfield lived and worked in that area early in his career. The red gown worn by the subject of the Waterfield portrait is that of a Doctor of Divinity.
THE PICTURE & FRAME - The picture is in a frame made by a Kensington framer Charles & Co and a label on the back gives the details, "Charles & Co., Pembridge Frameries, 45 Pembridge Road, London W11 Tel: PARK 6306". The 4 figure telephone number suggests that the frame was made before 1968. The frame was opened and resealed in January 2012 to discover if anything was written on the rear of the picture, but none is. The overall dimensions of the frame are - width 16.5 ins x height 22.5 ins. The size of the actual portrait (out of frame) is - width 10ins x height 16 ins.
SALE FEES - The successful purchaser will be required to pay a total fee including the bidding price, the costs of the auction ( which will be about £45 and quoted separately at the end of the sale) and the costs of packing, carriage and insurance.
BENEFICIARY OF THE SALE - The sale proceeds will be donated to the church of St Matthew, Northampton.
ENQUIRIES - about the sale may be made to -
William Miller email: w.miller70@ntlworld.com