Footnotes

Provenance
The Artist, by whom gifted to
Dorothy (Dot) Middleton, thence by family descent
Private Collection, U.K.

This previously unpublished Sickert oil dating from 1900, depicting Rue de la Boucherie with St Jacques in Dieppe, is one of eight known similar compositions the artist painted in oils between 1900 and circa 1907. It relates most closely to the circa 1902 canvas bearing the same title, which was exhibited at Pallant House Gallery's Sickert in Dieppe exhibition during 2015 (cat.no.37). These two versions are the only ones without the young trees included in the foreground, which prior to this newly discovered painting Wendy Baron suggested was 'circumstantial evidence' of the early date for the known oil. The present lot is rare in that it is dated by Sickert and therefore proves Baron's supposition is correct. Inscribed 'To Dot Middleton' (lower left) this picture can safely be assumed as the first example from the series. The oil on panel which belonged to the Dean of York was bequeathed to York Art Gallery in 1963.

The motivation for Sickert leaving London and settling permanently in Dieppe during 1898 was the painful separation from his wife, Ellen. Letters from the artist at the time suggest it also invigorated his creativity and presented ample opportunity to explore new subject matter; by which he meant landscapes as opposed to predominantly portraiture. Between 1898 and 1905 Sickert obsessively recorded the town, both its landmarks as well as the ordinary streets. The Gothic structure of St Jacques received much attention, with a fine example dating from circa 1899-1900 now in the collection of Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester. Although, as Katy Norris remarks in her Pallant House Gallery catalogue, 'He also represented the colourful little houses on the Rue de la Boucherie behind an open space, which is bordered on the left by the north elevation of St Jacques.' (Katy Norris, Sickert in Dieppe, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, 2015, p.53).

The same year as Sickert painted Rue de la Boucherie with St Jacques (1900), a solo exhibition of his work was presented at the legendry Parisian dealer, Durand-Ruel's gallery in Auteuil, alongside an exhibition of Monet's Water-Lilies series.