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Lot 27

10 July 2013, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £5,250 inc. premium

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Richard Ansdell, RA (British, 1815-1885)

Sheep on a mountainside
signed and dated 'R Ansdell/1856' (lower right)
oil on canvas
33.5 x 43cm (13 3/16 x 16 15/16in).

Footnotes

PROVENANCE:
with Richard Green Fine Paintings, London
Private collection, UK

This lovely painting was part of a touring exhibition, visiting the Malcolm Innes Gallery in Edinburgh, Lytham Hall in Lancashire and the Richard Green Gallery in London to mark the centenary of the artist's death in 1985.

It is easy to see why it was chosen as it's a fine example of one of Ansdell's sensitive portrayals of sheep for which he is well-known. During his annual visits to the Highlands of Scotland he built up a good working relationship and affinity with the local shepherds as they toiled hard for a living managing their flocks in the inhospitable terrain. Indeed, Richard Ansdell had a small flock of his own, thus he painted sheep with such incredible accuracy and empathy.

Despite the distant snowy slopes, this painting has a spring-like feel to it due to the lightness of the brush-strokes and the freshness of the colour palette; without the drama and foreboding that many of his later sheep paintings had. It is a depiction of a tender life event amongst the crags of a Scottish mountainside. A celebration of new life against all the odds.

We are grateful to Sarah Kellam, great-great-granddaughter of the artist for her help in cataloguing this lot.

Additional information

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