Lot 87: Joseph Edward Worrall , 1829-1913 happy thoughts oil on canvas

signed l.l.: J WORRALL / 1863 ; inscribed on reverse: 'HAPPY THOUGHTS' / BY / J. E. Worrall / 231 UPPER PARLIAMENT ST / LIVERPOOL oil on canvas

measurements note 43 by 34.5 cm.; 17 by 13 ½ in.

Christie's, London, 29 July 1977, lot 64, where bought by Sir David Scott

Joseph Edward Worrall belonged to a group of painters in Liverpool who formed an important offshoot of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. They were greatly influenced by the work of Millais, Holman Hunt and Madox Brown, which they first encountered at the exhibitions of the Liverpool Academy. Other members of the Liverpool School were William Lindsay Windus, William Davis, Daniel Alexander Williamson, John L. Lee, and James Campbell. The group generally painted landscapes and genre subjects, often with Pre-Raphaelite intensity and minute detail. Worral's work is seldom seen and the present subject depicting a local girl with a basket of fish, which was exhibited in Liverpool in 1863, is a most accomplished example.