
Penny Day
Head of UK and Ireland
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Sold for £52,750 inc. premium
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Head of UK and Ireland

Head of Department

Director
Provenance
The Artist, from whom purchased by
Edward le Bas
His Estate sale; Christie's, London, 3 March 1978, lot 145
Eardley Knollys, thence by descent to
Mattei Radev, thence by descent to the present owner
Private Collection, U.K.
Exhibited
London, Tate Gallery, Duncan Grant: A Retrospective Exhibition, organised by Arts Council of Great Britain, 12 May-20 June 1959, cat.no.14
London, Royal Academy, A Painter's Collection: An Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture from the Collection of Edward Le Bas, 1963, cat.no.155
Please note that the present work was painted at the Artist's studio at 19 Belgrave Road and there is a further male nude by the same hand verso.
This is an important work in Grant's development as a painter showing a newfound freedom of colour following a greater awareness of contemporary French art. He was chiefly painting portraits of family and friends at this time (1909-10) such as the immaculate portraits of J.M. Keynes (King's College, Cambridge) and James Strachey (Tate, London). But he also hired models from whom he was able to work more freely without having to satisfy the demands of likeness.
We are grateful to Richard Shone for compiling this catalogue entry.