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Lot 23: Nathaniel Hone RHA (1831-1917)

Est: €40,000 EUR - €60,000 EURSold:
Whyte'sBallsbridge, IrelandNovember 29, 2010

Item Overview

Description

FISHING BOATS AT VILLEFRANCHE, c.1880; oil on canvas;

Dimensions

61 by 102cm., 24 by 40in.

Artist or Maker

Exhibited

possibly exhibited at the RHA, 1899, no. 7

Notes

After his apprenticeship years spent in Paris, the Forest of Fontainebleau and Rome, Nathaniel Hone returned to Ireland in c.1872. He married Magdalen Jameson and during the 1870s and 1880s, the couple made several visits to the Mediterranean coast of France, possibly on occasion sailing in Hone's yacht. He was attracted by the beauty of the Côte d'Azur, and painted a number of landscapes and seascapes near Cannes, Nice, Villefranchesur-Mer, Menton, Bealieu and Antibes, and at Bordighera, across the border with Italy. These provided some of his earliest exhibits at The Royal Hibernian Academy, from 1876-1883.

Hone was attracted by the coastal towns of Menton and Villefranche, with their fortified buildings and narrow alleyways, built to defend themselves against invaders, and pirates from the Barbary coast, their deep natural harbours, broad-beamed fishing boats with tall masts, and tranquil morning and evening light. Hone painted a series of canvases of such subjects, each measuring around 24 by 40 inches, including Menton, Evening, 'Irish Sale', Sotheby's May 1996, lot 433), Villefranche from the East (NGI, no. 1361), the present picture of Villefranche, and Mediterranean Harbour Scene, (probably Antibes and the Alpes Maritimes; exhibited in The French Connexion, Adam's, Ava Gallery, Bangor, Hunt Museum, Limerick, 2010, no.9)

In Menton, Evening Hone views the town, with its tall houses on the seafront and church on the hill, with fishing boats in the bay on the left, two men on the rocks in the right foreground, and a harbour and fishing fleet in the background. Villefranche, which Hone probably visited in c.1880, was a pretty harbour town just east of Nice, sheltered between the Mont Boron peninsula and notable for its deep natural bay, its 16th century citadel, the medieval Chapelle de St. Pierre, the covered Rue Obscure, and the pathway below the cliffs which is visible in Hone's pictures. Hone takes a similar view to that of Menton, observing the towns from the east, with the open sea to the left behind.

The National Gallery of Ireland picture Villefranche form the East (illustrated p.19 of auction catalogue) may be an evening scene, showing fishing boats in the bay, while the town and rocks are in shadow. The present picture takes a similar viewpoint and the rocks in the right foreground show that he is observing the scene from the shore. This picture may have been painted in the early morning, with the boats clustered together, their sails catching the light of the rising sun. In both pictures the pale apricot glow of the sky meets the pale glowing turquoise of the sea in a calm horizon line, evoking a dreamy/Romantic mood.

In the background the castle-like walls of the tall houses, the rocks and cypress trees, and the figures walking along the pathway below the cliffs on their way to work, are shown in shadow. In the left-centre of the picture three fishing boats are shown: a rowing boat, a medium sized craft with a red line painted around its black hull, and a larger vessel, its hull painted a pale blue, whose tall sails catch the light. Although figures are generally subordinate to the landscape in Hone's pictures, the scene of fishing boats with six men preparing for work, raising the sails, forms a charming vignette within the picture. Generally, Hone's approach is naturalistic, but there is an underlying Romanticism in his Mediterranean paintings, the burnished tonality, and the scenes of fishermen, evoking a tranquil, Classical, Homeric world.

Moreover, the touches of white, red and blue in the men's clothing and the ochre in the sail provide cheerful notes of colour in the generally subdued palette. In the distance, the western part of the town, with a castle and fishing fleet, catch the sunlight. Hone employs bold brushstrokes, for example in the textured walls of the houses, the sails of the boats, and their reflections in the sea, and in the bold sweeps of paint across the bay, indicating ripples in the calm water.

Hone painted a few other pictures in Villefranche and its surroundings: including a smaller painting of the town, and some watercolours. The picture has a hand-carved Waddington Gallery-style gilded frame.

Dr. Julian Campbell
Cork, October 2010

1. It is worth nothing that the picture is catalogued as Villefranche from the West in the National Gallery (catalogue no. 1360) is not of Villefranche, but is probably of Clovelly in Devon, England.
2. Thomas Bodkin, Four Irish Landscape Painters Dublin, 1920, Dermot O'Brien, catalogue no. 534.

Payment & Shipping

Payment

Accepted forms of payment: MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Other, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

The buyer will be responsible for all removal, storage and insurance charges in respect of any lot which has not been collected within fourteen days of the date of sale.

Auction Details

Important Irish Art

by
Whyte's
November 29, 2010, 06:00 PM GMT

Royal Dublin Society (RDS) Anglesea Road Entrance, Ballsbridge, Dublin, D04 HY94, IE

Terms

Buyer's Premium

20.0%

Bidding Increments

From:To:Increment:
€0€299€20
€300€1,299€50
€1,300€2,999€100
€3,000€6,999€200
€7,000€12,999€500
€13,000€29,999€1,000
€30,000€69,999€2,000
€70,000€119,999€5,000
€120,000€249,999€10,000
€250,000+€20,000

Terms and Conditions of Sale Notice

Whyte & Sons Auctioneers Limited, trading as Whyte's, hereinafter called "the auctioneer" exercises all reasonable care to ensure that all descriptions are reliable and accurate, and that each item is genuine unless the contrary is indicated. However, the descriptions are not intended to be, are not and are not to be taken to be, statements of fact or representations of fact in relation to the lot. They are statements of the opinion of the auctioneers, and attention is particularly drawn to clause 5 set out below. Comments and opinions, which may be found in or on lots as labels, notes, lists, catalogue prices, or any other means of expression, do not constitute part of lot descriptions and are not to be taken as such unless they are made or specifically verified by the auctioneers. Clause 1 (a) Each lot is put up subject to any reserve price imposed by the vendor (b) Subject to sub-clause (a) of this clause, the highest bidder for each lot shall be the purchaser thereof (c) If any dispute arises as to the highest bidder the auctioneer shall have absolute discretion to determine the dispute and may put up again and re-sell the lot in respect of which the dispute arises. Clause 2 (a) The bidding and advances shall be regulated by and at the absolute discretion of the auctioneer and he shall have the right to refuse any bid or bids. NOTE: Where an agent bids, even on behalf of a disclosed client, the auctioneer nevertheless has the right at his discretion to refuse any such bid. (b) The purchaser of each lot shall immediately on its sale, if required by the auctioneer, give him the name and address of the purchaser and pay to the auctioneer at his discretion the whole or part of the purchase money. If the purchaser of any lot fails to comply with any such requirement the auctioneer may put up again and re-sell the lot; if upon such re-sale a lower price is obtained than was obtained on the first sale the purchaser in default on the first sale shall make good the difference in price and expenses of re-sale which shall become a debt due from him. (c) Where an agent purchases on behalf of an undisclosed client such agent shall be personally liable for payment of the purchase money to the auctioneer and for safe delivery of the lot to the said client. Clause 3 (a) The auctioneer reserves the rights to bid on behalf of clients including vendors, but shall not be liable for errors or omissions in executing instructions to bid. (b) The auctioneer reserves the rights, before or during a sale, to group together lots belonging to the same vendor, to split up and to withdraw any lot or lots at the auctioneer's absolute discretion and without giving any reason in any case. 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(c) Interest at 2 per cent per month and legal costs (if any) for recovery of monies due shall be payable by the purchaser on any overdue account. Clause 5 (a) All lots are made available for inspection before each sale and each buyer, by making a bid, acknowledges that he has satisfied himself as to the physical condition, age and catalogue description of each lot (including but not restricted to whether the lot is damaged or has been repaired or restored). (b) All lots are sold with all faults and imperfections and errors of description and the Auctioneer and its employees, servants or agents shall not be responsible for any error of description or for the condition or authenticity of any lot, save for Clause 5 (c) below. Written or verbal condition reports may be supplied by the Auctioneer on request but these are merely statements of opinion, and any error or omission in these reports may not be taken as grounds for a cancellation of sale or refund of any part of the purchase price or the cost of any repairs to the lot or lots reported on (c) A purchaser shall be at liberty to reject any lot if he - (i) gives the auctioneer written notice of intention to question the genuineness of the lot within seven days from the date of sale; AND (ii) proves that the lot is a deliberate forgery and (iii) returns to the auctioneer within 20 days from the date of sale the lot in the same condition as it was at the time of sale; provided that the auctioneer may, at his discretion, on receiving a request in writing from the purchaser, extend for a reasonable period the time for return of the lot to enable it to be submitted to expertisation. NOTE: The onus of proving a lot to be a deliberate forgery is on the purchaser. (d) Where a lot has been submitted to expertisation, all costs of such expertisation shall be paid by the person who retains the certificate of expertisation and item or items to which the certificate relates. (e) Where the purchaser of a lot discharges the onus and acts in accordance with sub-clause (b) of this clause, the auctioneer shall rescind the sale and repay to the purchaser the purchase money paid by him in respect of the lot. (f) No lot shall be rejected if, subsequent to the sale, it has been marked by an expert committee or treated by any other process unless the auctioneer's permission to subject the lot to such treatment has first been obtained in writing. (g) Any lot listed as a "collection, range, portfolio etc." or stated to comprise or contain a collection or range of items which are not described shall be put up for sale not subject to rejection and shall be taken by the purchaser with all (if any) faults, lack of genuineness and errors of description and numbers of items in the lot, and the purchaser shall have no right to reject the lot; except that, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this sub-clause, where before a sale a person intending to bid at the sale gives notice in writing to, and satisfies the auctioneer that any such lot contains any item or items undescribed in the sale catalogue and that person specifically describes that item or those items in that notice, then that item or those items shall, as between the auctioneer and that person, to be taken to form part of the description of the lot. Clause 6 The respective rights and obligations of the parties shall be governed and interpreted by Irish law, and the buyer hereby submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish Courts. SPECIAL CONDITIONS (a) The buyer shall pay the Auctioneer a commission at the rate of 16.52% (which excludes VAT at the prevailing rate under The Margin Scheme and which is not reclaimable (b) The Auctioneer or its employees, servants or agents may, on request organise packing and shipping of lots purchased or may order on the buyer's behalf third parties to pack or ship purchases. Under no circumstances does the Auctioneer accept any liability whatsoever for any loss or damage howsoever occasioned in the course of such service. (c) The buyer authorises the Auctioneer to use any photographs or illustrations of any lot purchased for any or all purposes as the Auctioneer may require. The placing of a bid will be taken as full agreement to all the above conditions. WHYTE & SONS AUCTIONEERS LIMITED 38 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2

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Condition

Whyte & Sons Auctioneers Limited, trading as Whyte's, hereinafter called "the auctioneer" exercises all reasonable care to ensure that all descriptions are reliable and accurate, and that each item is genuine unless the contrary is indicated. However, the descriptions are not intended to be, are not and are not to be taken to be, statements of fact or representations of fact in relation to the lot. They are statements of the opinion of the auctioneers, and attention is particularly drawn to clause 5 in our full Terms & Conditions. Comments and opinions, which may be found in or on lots as labels, notes, lists, catalogue prices, or any other means of expression, do not constitute part of lot descriptions and are not to be taken as such unless they are made or specifically verified by the auctioneers.

Premium & Taxes

The buyer shall pay the Auctioneer a commission at the rate of 16.52% (which excludes VAT at the prevailing rate under The Margin Scheme and which is not reclaimable). This amounts to a gross rate of 20% inclusive. There is NO extra charge for bidding on line.

Payment

Each lot shall be paid for in full before delivery and taken away at his/her expense within fourteen days of the sale.

Shipping

The buyer will be responsible for all removal, storage and insurance charges in respect of any lot which has not been collected within fourteen days of the date of sale.