Lot 258: JOHN SEYMOUR LUCAS (1849-1923) CAVALIER WITH WINE

John Seymour Lucas (1849-1923) Oil on Canvas Cavalier with a glass of wine, painted c. 1880. Two old small patches to back. In wood frame measures 22 1/2"x 29"x1 1/2". Weight 5 pds. John Seymour Lucas (1849-1923) was a Victorian English historical and portrait painter, as well as an accomplished theatrical costume designer. John Seymour Lucas was born in London in 1849, the nephew of a portrait painter to the Court. With the encouragement of an uncle, the boy was first apprenticed to a wood carver and then to a sculptor. At sixteen, Lucas began a course of study with his cousin, John Templeton Lucas, a noted genre painter. Five years later he entered the St. Martin's Lane Art School and eventually the Royal Academy, where he began exhibiting in 1872. Lucas was influenced by Sir Walter Scott, the writer and by Ernest Meissonier, an artist who specialized in cavaliers as subjects. Lucas also made trips to Amsterdam and Madrid where he became influenced by the style of Velazquez. By the mid 1870's, the artists small genre works had given way to 17th and 18th century masculine costume' pictures of historical significance. These established and secured his reputation and he devoted himself almost entirely to them.The artist exhibited regularly at the annual Royal Academy exhibitions in London and was elected an Academician in 1898. He was also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a member of the Kernoozers Club - a society that met to discuss arts, armor, etc. His own collection of antique costumes was acquired by the London Museum upon his death. PROVENANCE: A Private Charleston SC Estate.

2 small patches to back