George Price Boyce Sold at Auction Prices

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE R.W.S. (BRITISH 1826-1897)

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE R.W.S. (BRITISH 1826-1897) PUY D'AVRAIGNE, AUVERGNE Signed and dated 1882-3, watercolour 32cm x 49cm (12.5in x 19.25in) Provenance: William S. Caine Exhibited: Franco-British Exhibition, London 1908, British Fine Art Section;Royal Commission International Fine-Arts Exhibition, Rome 1911, British Section

George Price Boyce, RWS,  A receiving house of the Royal Humane Society, probably on the River Thames 

George Price Boyce, RWS,  British 1826-1897-  A receiving house of the Royal Humane Society, probably on the River Thames;  pencil, watercolour and bodycolour, heightened with gum arabic on paper, 19.7 x 32.1 cm.  Provenance:  Private Collection, UK.  Note:  The sign on the outside of what appears to be a riverside inn identifies it as a receiving house for the Royal Humane Society - a space in which those rescued from the river could be medically treated. The Royal Humane Society was founded in London in 1774 with the intention of saving people from drowning and encouraging rescues. Initially, pub-owners were paid one guinea for allowing a body to be treated in their house, but by the end of the 18th century such financial rewards had been replaced by medals. The first designated receiving house was a farmhouse in Hyde Park, donated by King George III, and situated close to the Serpentine which was popular for swimming and ice-skating. Gradually, branches of the Royal Humane Society were set up across the country in areas where the risk of drowning was high. It is likely that the present work depicts a part of the River Thames near Goring in South Oxfordshire, an area where Boyce frequented.

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE, RWS,  BRITISH 1826-1897-  A RECEIVING HOUSE OF THE ROYAL HUMANE SOCIETY, PROBAB

George Price Boyce, RWS,  British 1826-1897-  A receiving house of the Royal Humane Society, probably on the River Thames;  pencil, watercolour and bodycolour, heightened with gum arabic on paper, 19.7 x 32.1 cm.  Provenance:  Private Collection, UK.  Note: The sign on the outside of what appears to be a riverside inn identifies it as a receiving house for the Royal Humane Society - a space in which those rescued from the river could be medically treated. The Royal Humane Society was founded in London in 1774 with the intention of saving people from drowning and encouraging rescues. Initially, pub-owners were paid one guinea for allowing a body to be treated in their house, but by the end of the 18th century such financial rewards had been replaced by medals. The first designated receiving house was a farmhouse in Hyde Park, donated by King George III, and situated close to the Serpentine which was popular for swimming and ice-skating. Gradually, branches of the Royal Humane Society were set up across the country in areas where the risk of drowning was high. It is likely that the present work depicts a part of the River Thames near Goring in South Oxfordshire, an area where Boyce frequented. Please refer to department for condition report

George Price Boyce, RWS, British 1826-1897 A receiving house of

George Price Boyce, RWS, British 1826-1897 A receiving house of the Royal Humane Society, probably on the River Thames; pencil, watercolour and bodycolour, heightened with gum arabic on paper, 19.7 x 32.1 cm. Provenance: Private Collection, UK. Note: The sign on the outside of what appears to be a riverside inn identifies it as a receiving house for the Royal Humane Society - a space in which those rescued from the river could be medically treated. The Royal Humane Society was founded in London in 1774 with the intention of saving people from drowning and encouraging rescues. Initially, pub-owners were paid one guinea for allowing a body to be treated in their house, but by the end of the 18th century such financial rewards had been replaced by medals. The first designated receiving house was a farmhouse in Hyde Park, donated by King George III, and situated close to the Serpentine which was popular for swimming and ice-skating. Gradually, branches of the Royal Humane Society were set up across the country in areas where the risk of drowning was high. It is likely that the present work depicts a part of the River Thames near Goring in South Oxfordshire, an area where Boyce frequented.

Boyce (George Pryce, 1826-1897). Study of a young Welsh man resting, 1855, & 4 others

Boyce (George Pryce, 1826-1897). Study of a young Welsh man resting, 1855, & 4 others * Boyce (George Pryce, 1826-1897). Study of a young Welsh man resting, 1855, pencil drawing on wove paper of a male figure half-reclining against a manger, wearing a jacket, patched trousers, and a bowler hat, with his feet bare, various pencil annotations in the artist's hand pertaining to colours and detail, initialled in pencil lower left corner, further annotated by the artist lower right 'Tan Rallt [North Wales] Octr 11.'55', sheet size 25.4 x 17.6 cm (10 x 7 ins), together with 3 other pencil drawings on wove paper by Boyce: the first of Welsh mountains, with artist's annotations regarding hues, inscription lower right 'Moel Siabod. Sept.55', and on verso artist's further notes ' ... cropping out of grey yellow-green herbage & reddish-grey broken earth ... ', sheet size 12.8 x 19.8 cm (5 x 7.75 ins); a Channel Island seascape titled lower right 'From Mont Orgueil, Jersey 22.5.53', sheet size 13 x 26 cm (5 1/8 x 10 1/4ins); and a view of a timbered house with figures, initalled by the artist in pencil lower right, and annotated upper right 'Aug.22.1845. Comberton House, Herefordshe', sheet size 9.7 x 17.6 cm (3 7/8 x 7 ins), and a pen & ink drawing on wove paper of a windmill by Boyce, inscribed lower right in pencil 'Cricklewood. Augt 9.1847', sheet size 11.6 x 9.1 cm (4 5/8 x 3 5/8 ins) QTY: (5)

George Price Boyce R.W.S. (British, 1826

George Price Boyce R.W.S. (British, 1826-1897), Abinger Mill Pond, Surrey, signed and dated 1866-7 l.l., inscribed verso, watercolour, 32 by 40c, gilt frame. Provenance: with Peter Nahum

George Price Boyce, RWS,

George Price Boyce, RWS, British 1826-1897- A receiving house of the Royal Humane Society, probably on the River Thames; pencil, watercolour and bodycolour, heightened with gum arabic on paper, 19.7 x 32.1 cm. Provenance: Private Collection, UK. Note: The sign on the outside of what appears to be a riverside inn identifies it as a receiving house for the Royal Humane Society - a space in which those rescued from the river could be medically treated. The Royal Humane Society was founded in London in 1774 with the intention of saving people from drowning and encouraging rescues. Initially, pub-owners were paid one guinea for allowing a body to be treated in their house, but by the end of the 18th century such financial rewards had been replaced by medals. The first designated receiving house was a farmhouse in Hyde Park, donated by King George III, and situated close to the Serpentine which was popular for swimming and ice-skating. Gradually, branches of the Royal Humane Society were set up across the country in areas where the risk of drowning was high. It is likely that the present work depicts a part of the River Thames near Goring in South Oxfordshire, an area where Boyce frequented. Please refer to department for condition report

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE, R.W.S. (BRITISH, 1826-1897) A receiving house of the R

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE, R.W.S. (BRITISH, 1826-1897) A receiving house of the Royal Humane Society, probably on the Thames pencil, watercolour and bodycolour, heightened with gum arabic on paper 7 3/4 x 12 5/8 in. (19.7 x 32.1 cm.)

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE, R.W.S. (1826-1897) The Sphinx near Giza in morning lig

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE, R.W.S. (1826-1897) The Sphinx near Giza in morning light pencil and watercolour heightened with bodycolour and with scratching out on paper 8 ¾ x 10 ¼ in. (22.3 x 26 cm.)

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE (1826-1897) Venice by moonlight, Palazzo San Buonnodi a

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE (1826-1897) Venice by moonlight, Palazzo San Buonnodi a San Paolo watercolour heightened with bodycolour on oatmeal paper 10 ½ x 7 ¼ in. (26.6 x 18.5 cm.)

George Price Boyce (British, 1826-1897) The Citadel of Saladin on the Mokattam Hills, Cairo (a period label affixed to the frame verso is inscribed as follows 'Citadel - Mookattam Hills/Tombs of the Moomtooks-/Aquaduct - Cairo/Feb 1862')

George Price Boyce (British, 1826-1897) The Citadel of Saladin on the Mokattam Hills, Cairo signed and dated 'G.P.Boyce.Febr.1862' (lower left) watercolour 14 x 40cm (5 1/2 x 15 3/4in). a period label affixed to the frame verso is inscribed as follows 'Citadel - Mookattam Hills/Tombs of the Moomtooks-/Aquaduct - Cairo/Feb 1862' For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE R.W.S (BRITISH 1826-1897) TOMB OF CASTELBARCO, VERONA

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE R.W.S (BRITISH 1826-1897) TOMB OF CASTELBARCO, VERONA Signed and dated November '54, watercolour (34cm x 24cm (13.5in x 9.5in))

* Boyce (George Price, 1826-1897). Valley of Lledr, August 1st, 1849

* Boyce (George Price, 1826-1897). Valley of Lledr, August 1st, 1849, watercolour and pencil on wove paper, signed in pencil lower right, and also inscribed in pencil to lower left, 'Valley of Lledr Aug 1/49 - G.P.B.', sheet size 200 x 298 mm (7.8 x 11.75 ins), framed and glazed Qty: (1)

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE (1826-1897) Venise la lagune au crépuscule Aquarelle 13 5 x 24 cm. Provenance :

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE (1826-1897) Venise la lagune au crépuscule Aquarelle 13 5 x 24 cm. Provenance : Galerie JS Maas & Co Ltd à Londres (étiquette au dos).

George Price Boyce (British, 1826-1897) The Citadel of Saladin on the Mokattam Hills, Cairo (a period label affixed to the frame verso is inscribed as follows 'Citadel - Mookattam Hills/Tombs of the Moomtooks-/Aquaduct - Cairo/Feb 1862')

George Price Boyce (British, 1826-1897) The Citadel of Saladin on the Mokattam Hills, Cairo signed and dated 'G.P.Boyce.Febr.1862' (lower left) watercolour 14 x 40cm (5 1/2 x 15 3/4in). a period label affixed to the frame verso is inscribed as follows 'Citadel - Mookattam Hills/Tombs of the Moomtooks-/Aquaduct - Cairo/Feb 1862' For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website

ATTRIBUTED TO GEORGE PRICE BOYCE (BRITISH 1826-1897)

The Property of a Connoisseur, London ATTRIBUTED TO GEORGE PRICE BOYCE (BRITISH 1826–1897) A northern fishing town on an estuary Watercolour and bodycolour over pencil 17 x 24.5cm (6 3/4 x 9 3/4in)

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE (BRITISH 1826-1897) THE DOUBLE CHURCH OF SAINT ILLTYD'S CHURCH AT LLANTWIT MAJOR, GLAMORGANSHIRE 31cm x 41cm (12i..

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE (BRITISH 1826-1897) THE DOUBLE CHURCH OF SAINT ILLTYD'S CHURCH AT LLANTWIT MAJOR, GLAMORGANSHIRE Signed and dated 1887-8, watercolour 31cm x 41cm (12in x 16in)

* Boyce (George Price, 1826-1897). View of the Ticino Valley from Giornico, Switzerland, at sunset, 18 July 1856,

watercolour on paper, with traces of pencil, signed with monogram and dated lower left 18.7.'56 in red ink, inscribed in pencil in Boyce's hand to verso of the backing paper 'From Giornico, looking S.W. up & across Ticino Valley, distant peaks those of Della Peccora, or Forna G.P. Boyce', and repeated without the artist's name at foot of the backing paper below the image in a small hand (presumably by the artist also), 138 x 270 mm (5.4 x 10.6 ins), old card mount, inscribed in ink lower left 'From A.A. Boyce August 1897' - Quantity (1)

George Price Boyce (1826-1897) British. A View of Windows in Darley Church, Pencil, Inscribed and Dated 'August 11th 1848, 5" x 6.75", and another by the same hand, framed as one, and two further drawings, four (4). Provenance; Julian Hartnoll.

George Price Boyce (1826-1897) British. A View of Windows in Darley Church, Pencil, Inscribed and Dated 'August 11th 1848, 5" x 6.75", and another by the same hand, framed as one, and two further drawings, four (4). Provenance; Julian Hartnoll.

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE R.W.S. | Autumn in the Welsh Hills

Watercolor, gouache and pencil on paper

George Price Boyce (British 1826 - 1897) Watercolour, "A Surrey Common in November", Signed & Dated 1866 Titled Verso, 16 x 44

George Price Boyce (British 1826 - 1897) Watercolour, "A Surrey Common in November", Signed & Dated 1866 Titled Verso, 16 x 44

George Price Boyce (British 1826 - 1897) Watercolour, "Al Hakim Mosque Cairo", Signed & Dated 1862 Titled Verso, 25 x 18

George Price Boyce (British 1826 - 1897) Watercolour, "Al Hakim Mosque Cairo", Signed & Dated 1862 Titled Verso, 25 x 18

George Price Boyce (British 1826 - 1897) Watercolour, "Al Hakim Mosque Cairo", Signed & Dated 1862 Titled Verso, 25 x 18

George Price Boyce (British 1826 - 1897) Watercolour, "Al Hakim Mosque Cairo", Signed & Dated 1862 Titled Verso, 25 x 18

George Price Boyce (British 1826 - 1897) Watercolour, "A Surrey Common in November", Signed & Dated 1866 Titled Verso, 16 x 44

George Price Boyce (British 1826 - 1897) Watercolour, "A Surrey Common in November", Signed & Dated 1866 Titled Verso, 16 x 44

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE (BRITISH, 1826-1897) ANDUZE, FRANCE 37cm x 33cm (14.5in x 13in)

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE (BRITISH, 1826-1897) ANDUZE, FRANCE Watercolour 37cm x 33cm (14.5in x 13in)

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE (BRITISH, 1826-1897) ANDUZE, FRANCE 37cm x 33cm (14.5in x 13in)

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE (BRITISH, 1826-1897) ANDUZE, FRANCE Watercolour 37cm x 33cm (14.5in x 13in)

Nocturne: Venice by Moonlight; and The Nile at Gizeh

George Price Boyce, R.W.S. (1826-1897) Nocturne: Venice by Moonlight; and The Nile at Gizeh the first signed with monogram and dated '54' (lower left) and with inscription 'from the Riva degli Schiavoni, Venice/by moonlight/George P Boyce 1854' (on the reverse) and the second signed, inscribed and dated 'The Nile at Gizeh - from window of Fadel Pasha's House-/by moonlight/George P Boyce - Nov 20. 1861' (on the reverse) watercolour and bodycolour on oatmeal paper 5 5/8 x 8 7/8 in. (14.3 x 22.5 cm.); and 2 1/8 x 7 ½ in. (5.4 x 19 cm.) (2)

George Price Boyce R.W.S.

signed G. P. Boyce and dated 1885 (lower left); titled, dated, signed and inscribed with the artist's address on a label attached to the backboard,watercolour,33 by 49.5cm., 13 by 19½in.

George Price Boyce R.W.S.

signed with monogram and dated 27.9.54 (lower left) and dated Sept. 27. 54 (lower right); titled, signed, dated and inscribed with exhibition details on fragments of paper sealed to the backboard,pencil and watercolour,18.5 by 27cm., 7¼ by 10¾in.

George Price Boyce (1826-1897), DOWNLAND

George Price Boyce (1826-1897), DOWNLAND Watercolour and bodycolour 52 x 77cm

George Price Boyce (1826-1897), DOWNLAND

George Price Boyce (1826-1897), DOWNLAND Watercolour and bodycolour 52 x 77cm

George Price Boyce (British, 1826-1897) The Call to Prayer, Gizah

The Call to Prayer, Gizah signed and dated 'G.P.Boyce/Decr/1861' (lower left) and inscribed 'From a house-top in/Ghizeh./Painted on the/spot in Decr 1861/& exhibited at Gallery/of Soc. of Pυrs in W.Colυrs/in May 1872./G.P.Boyce/West House. Cook's Ground/Chelsea' (on label on reverse) and inscribed in pencil on side of paper support 'taken from the roof top of Dr. Martini's house at Ghizeh. Decr 1861' watercolour 32 x 37cm (12 5/8 x 14 9/16in).

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE (1826-1897) A tree lined bank

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE (1826-1897) A tree lined bank with flowing river, signed and dated 1851, watercolour heightened in white, 10" x 14 1/2" (see illustration)

George Price Boyce, R.W.S. (1826-1897)

George Price Boyce, R.W.S. (1826-1897) On the banks of the Teme, Ludlow signed and dated 'G P Boyce. Oct 1872' (lower left) and further signed, inscribed and dated 'Equipe sur les bords de la Teme/à Ludlow. Angleterre. Oct: 1872. A Monsυr et Madame Soubeiran/hommage d'amitié de l'auteur/G. P. Boyce. Août 1878' (on an old label attached to the reverse) watercolour heightened with white and with gum arabic on buff paper, unframed 7 5/8 x 10¾ in. (19.4 x 27.3 cm.)

George Boyce Woodland Landscape

Woodland Landscape

Boyce (George Price, 1826-1897). Canal in shadows,

Boyce (George Price, 1826-1897). Canal in shadows, Venice, watercolour, signed with monogram, and dated 1854, 25.5 x 16.5cm (10 x 6.5ins), period gilt frame, glazed, with label of Leggatt Brothers, Cheapside, to verso, and additional handwritten ownership label for Kate Baxter (1)

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE (BRITISH 1826-1897) SUNSET OVER HEATHLAND 46cm x 71cm (18in x 28in)

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE (BRITISH 1826-1897) SUNSET OVER HEATHLAND Indistinctly signed, watercolour and bodycolour 46cm x 71cm (18in x 28in)

Portrait of Edward Fulliger, seated

George Price Boyce, R.W.S. (1826-1897) Portrait of Edward Fulliger, seated signed with initials, inscribed and dated 'G.P.B. Aug. 50. Hastings' (lower right) and further inscribed 'Edward Fulliger.' (lower left) pencil 7½ x 5½ in. (19 x 14 cm.)

George Price Boyce, R.W.S. (1826-1897)

The fortified manor house at Stokesay, Shropshire signed and dated 'G.P. Boyce 1874' (lower right) watercolour with touches of bodycolour, unframed 9 1/4 x 12 1/4 in. (23.5 x 31 cm.)

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE R.W.S. 1826-1897

signed and dated l.l.: G. P. Boyce 1874. 5 watercolour

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE R.W.S., BRITISH 1826-1897

George Price Boyce R.W.S. (British, 1826-1897)

Near Streatley, Berkshire; Dorchester Oxfordshire watercolour one signed and dated 'G.P. Boyce 1868' l.l. watercolour 5 x 23 cm. (2 x 9 in.); 7.5 x 20 cm. (3 x 8 in.)

Henry Tanworth Wells, R.A. (1828-1903)

Portrait study of George Price Boyce (1826-1897), full-length, seated, reading a letter inscribed 'Sketched by H.T. Wells. R.A./from G.P.B.' (lower right) pencil, pen and brown ink, unframed 7 1/8 x 43/4 in. (18.1 x 12.1 cm.) EXHIBITION London, Tate Gallery, George Price Boyce, 1987, no. 3 NOTES The Tate exhibition catalogue dates this drawing c. 1860, when Boyce was thirty-four, and describes him as sketching; he seems, however, to be reading, possibly a newspaper. Wells had met Boyce at Bettws-y-Coed, when Boyce was sketching there under David Cox's supervision in the summer of 1851, and by November that year he appears in Boyce's diary, both being members of the Artists' Society at 29 Clipstone Street. They became brothers-in-law when Wells married Boyce's younger sister Joanna in December 1857, and they are seen together, with Joanna and their fellow artist J.R.Clayton, in Wells's Conversation Piece, 1861, reproduced in Virginia Surtees' edition of Boyce's diaries, 1980, facing p. 38.

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE, R.W.S. (1826-1897) HINDE HEAD - SKETCH NEAR BROOK FARM, NEAR GODALMING, SURREY

inscribed with title on a label attached to the backboard, watercolour 14 by 51.5 cm.; 5 1/2 by 20 1/4 in. G.P. Boyce's brother-in-law Henry Tamworth Wells built a house near Abinger for his family in 1859-60; from this time forward Boyce was a regular visitor to the countryside of west Surrey. The present sketch perhaps dates from the 1870s. PROVENANCE as lot 39.

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE, R.W.S. (1826-1897) NEWCASTLE FROM THE RABBIT BANKS, GATESHEAD ON TYNE

signed and dated G.P.Boyce.1864.5 l.l., watercolour, unframed 22 by 55 cm.; 8 1/2 by 21 1/2 in. The present view of Newcastle was painted by G.P. Boyce during a visit to the north east in the late summer of 1864. It seems that he had been encouraged to consider the industrialized landscapes around Newcastle as a subject for art by the ironmaster Isaac Lowthian Bell, who is recorded as having called on Boyce to buy three watercolours earlier in the same year. Two principal watercolours seem to have derived from Boyce's stay in the north: Windmill Hills, Gateshead (Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne) and the present picture. Each shows a distant view of Newcastle itself, with the familiar landmark of the open lantern of St Nicholas' church, northwards across the unseen River Tyne, from Gateshead. It is not possible to identify Boyce's precise vantage point in the present drawing, as the area has been built over; however, it is likely that the Rabbit Banks on the drawing's title were somewhere close to the parish of Bensham. Newcastle from the Rabbit Banks, Gateshead on Tyne may be identified as the 1865 Old Water-Colour Society exhibit on the basis of a description of that drawing in the Athenaeum as "a distant view of a manufacturing town [which] interests us in its million lives and fortunes; its subtle colouring seems pathetic, and a glowing sky looks full of prophecy". (Athenaeum, 1865, p.594). EXHIBITED London, Society of Painters in Water-Colours, 1865 (128).

GEORGE PRICE BOYCE, R.W.S. (1826-1897) ON THE THAMES BETWEEN STREATLEY AND PANGBOURNE

signed, inscribed with title and the artist's address on a label attached to the backboard, watercolour 12.5 by 23.5 cm.; 5 by 9 1/4 in. The present watercolour shows an evening view across the Thames towards Streatley Hill, and was probably done in the late summer of 1865. George Price Boyce had taken to making painting expeditions along the river between Reading and Oxford in 1859, and was particularly fond of the villages of Mapledurham, Pangbourne and Streatley. His two best known works, Streatley Mill at Sunset (ex Sotheby's, 25 November 1987, lot 35) and The Mill on the Thames at Mapledurham (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge), of 1859 and 1860 respectively, were both inspired by the ancient buildings and verdant landscape of the upper Thames valley. During the 1860s Boyce adopted a more informal and less highly literal approach to landscape subjects; in drawings such as the present view of Streatley colours are allowed to blend harmoniously and emphasis is given to the qualities of light observed at different times of the day. On the Thames between Streatley and Pangbourne was exhibited at the Old Water-Colour Society in 1866, along with two other Thames subjects and among a total of seven works by G.P. Boyce. Although only the third occasion on which he had exhibited there, he was already emerging, along with Alfred William Hunt, as one of the most remarkable younger talents within the society. It was on this occasion that the critic of the Art Journal analysed the feeling for nature that these two artists showed in their drawings: "Such artists find sermons in stones, and good in everything. Fire oft times they throw into the face of Nature, yet light and colour do they attempter by shade." (AJ, 1866, p.174). Boyce himself was, according to the same review, "singular in the choice of his subjects, inasmuch as he loves to plant his sketching stool just where there is no subject. Yet does he manage to make out of the most unpromising materials a picture which for the most part is clever and satisfactory." (Ibid., pp.174-5) A similar view on the Thames looking towards Streatley Hill was included in the Tate Gallery's Boyce exhibition of 1987, number 43, lent from a private collection. PROVENANCE Henry Tamworth Wells, R.A. (the artist's brother-in-law); Joanna Margaret Charrington; Mrs Wilfred Hadley (1923); Dr Margaret Jackson, and by family descent. EXHIBITED London, Society of Painters in Water-Colours, 1866, no.269; London, Tate Gallery, Loan Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings of the 1860 Period, 1923 (80).

SIR EDWARD COLEY BURNE-JONES, BT., A.R.A. (1833-1898) GIRLS IN A MEADOW

oil on panel 26 by 114.5 cm.; 10 by 45 in. Burne-Jones conceived this figurative compostion as a decorative panel for the front of an upright piano made for his friend the painter George Price Boyce. In 1860 Boyce had bought from Burne-Jones an ink drawing related to a decoration that Burne-Jones was then making for a piano of his own, showing a group of eight female figures listening to music in a garden while the figure of Death approaches at a gateway. This purchase seems to have prompted Boyce to order a similar piano, and to ask Burne-Jones to decorate it for him. In December 1860, Boyce recorded in his diary that he had asked the piano-maker Eavestaff to supply a panel for Burne-Jones to paint on. However, it seems a confusion occurred over the exact size of the panel needed, because on 28 January 1861 Boyce wrote in his dairy: "To Roberson's to alter dimensions of panel for piano", while on 19 February a further entry describes how he "Took to Jones the prepared panel for my new pianoforte. Webb came in also." (These entries come from previously unpublished parts of G.P. Boyce's diary, the MS of which is in a private collection.) The scheme of decoration devised for Boyce's piano, known previously from a pencil study of the four left-hand figures, now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (see Morris & Company in Cambridge, exhibition catalogue, 1980, (17), pl.11), consists of six figures sitting and lying while one of their number reads from a large book. On the right side an open landscape is given, while on the left the figures are enclosed by awnings through which evening light shines. Boyce took delivery of the piano, complete with Burne-Jones's painted decoration, and it may be seen in a photograph of the studio of his house in Glebe Place, Chelsea in Architectural Review, 1898-9, vol.V, p.151. The piano was apparently taken to the United States shortly after the sale of the contents of West House in 1897, and is now untraced. The present painting is likely to be a sketch for the finished panel for Boyce's piano, or perhaps was a first attempt at the subject abandoned by Burne-Jones in January 1861 as a consequence of the muddle about the size of panel needed. This is an important rediscovery from a crucial formative stage of Burne-Jones's career. It provides a fascination insight into the way the artist was thinking about how painted subjects and decoration might be combined, and how works of art might thus gain a particular relevance to people using the pieces of furniture for which the painted decorations were made. It also tells much about how Burne-Jones was evolving certain pictorial types in this period, and how even apparently subjectless decorative compositions may be imbued with implied symbolical meaning. Burne-Jones's own piano, now in the Victoria & Albert Museum, was deliberately made from unstained American mahogany so that he might paint directly on it. On the keyboard lid he had painted a version of the subject "Chant d'Amour". However, the panel which appeared on the front of the piano below the keybord was more sinister, being described by Georgiana Burne-Jones as "Death, veiled and crowned, standing outside the gate of a garden where a number of girls, unconscious of his approach, are resting and listening to music." (G.B.J., Memorials of Edward Burne-Jones, two volumes, 1904, I, p.207) The figurative scheme for the first piano originates in sketches that Burne-Jones made from the Trionfo della Morte frescoes in the Camposanto in Pisa in 1859. The decoration of Boyce's piano is really very similar, except that Burne-Jones here omitted the figure of Death, and by doing so he seems to embrace the principle that art should avoid a merely illustrative purpose, prefering to give an idyllic character to the arrangements of figurative elements within a protoclassical composition. This artistic preoccupation reaches its conclusion in Burne-Jones's celebrated watercolour Green Summer (ex Sotheby's, 19 June 1990, lot 32), of 1864, where once again female figures are absorbed by the words of a reader, and which is concerned with the evocation of mood rather than the transmission of narrative. However, the strange and haunting quality of each of these closely related images clearly originates in Burne-Jones's response to the implicit intimation of mortality in the Trionfo della Morte frescoes, and as such each may be read as essays on the transitory nature of worldly happiness.