Shepherdess Antiques

SOLD....Portrait of a Young Girl c.1680; attributed to Mary Beale

Oil on canvas in reproduction parcel gilt 'cassetta' frame. The attractive young sitter is depicted as a shepherdess in the mythical realm of Arcady (or Arcadia), a fashionable conceit of the times which also featured in the literature and poetry of the period. The girl holds a shepherd's crook of the Continental type; real shepherds would use the shaped end to scoop up and throw small stones to send the sheep in a chosen direction. The influence of the style of Sir Peter Lely, Mary's mentor and friend, is clearly seen. MARY BEALE (1633 - 1699). Born Mary Cradock in Suffolk where her father was rector of Barrow church. She married Charles Beale in 1651/2. At a time when a female professional artist was a rare thing Mary quickly built up a successful business painting mainly the middle classes. Known as a painter from 1654, her later work was strongly influenced by Sir Peter Lely, Painter to the King and immensely fashionable. Mary's most active period was in the 1670s and 80s. In many, but not all, of her bust portraits she affects a feigned stone oval surround. SIZE: framed 30 x 24.25 inches canvas size 23.75 x 17 75 inches. PROVENANCE: London Private Collection. Verso, a framer's label 'Sebastian d'Orsai (A.B.) Ltd.'

SOLD....'The Shepherdess of the Alps' by Thomas Gaugain

Oil on canvas in 18th c. giltwood frame (probably the original), 19th c. strengthening to the back. Thomas Gaugain (c.1756-c.1805) was born in Abbeville, France. Moving to England, he entered the RA Schools in 1771; he exhibited at the Royal Academy seven times between 1778 and 1782 (this painting was exhibited in 1779). Gaugain became very successful with his portraits and fashionable paintings of the latest novels and plays; he also created engravings for those who could not afford an original (Hogarth had done the same). This charming image illustrates a scene from Marmontel's play 'The Shepherdess of the Alps' which became the rage in England and France and inspired many paintings and prints. It tells the tragic story of a forbidden love affair between two young French aristocrats. In spite of their family's objections Adelaide and her lover, the Count d'Orestan, run away together; but their happiness is short lived when the count tragically dies. A grief stricken Adelaide renounces the world and becomes a shepherdess. She at last finds happiness after she reveals her true identity to a French nobleman, Fonrose. Size: framed 31.75 x 38.5 inches unframed: 25 x 31.5 inches Provenance: Verso; an early 20th c. label from the famous dealer Roger Warner of Burford whose collection once held this painting:- 'I am of course prepared to assure your client positively that his Gaugain is an original and not a copy. Apart from the fact that I am not quite unknown myself in connection with such matters, in the course of the last few years it has been seen by a considerable number of well-known authorities in my house.....Humphrey Brooke, Secretary of the R.A. expressed the view to me that it should have been included on the Exhibition of the First 100 Years of the R.A. It is both painted and engraved by Gaugain'. A Cheltenham Private Collection NOTE: PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE SHIPPING