Arthur Melville, ARSA RSW ARS (British, 1855-1904)
Cairo Coffee Stall signed, inscribed 'Cairo' and dated 1881, watercolour and white heightening, with scratching out, 38.5 x 53.5cm (15 3/16 x 21 1/16in).
Footnotes
Provenance : John Tullis, Glasgow, and by descent Exhibited : Loaned to the RSA, 1905 (no65) and the RI, 1906 (no134) Literature : Mackay, AE, 'Arthur Melville', Leigh on Sea, 1951, p129. Note : Tullis, one of Melville's principal early patrons, owned three Egyptian works. Despite the dearth of Orientalist works exhibited in Scotland pre-1881, Melville's watercolours sold readily to patrons with trade interests abroad, such as Tullis (a leather goods manufacturer), Arthur Sanderson and James Mackinlay (whisky distillers) and James Cox Cox (jute). Melville was in Cairo from autumn 1880 - February '82, residing at Shepheard's Hotel. In 1881, he had produced some of his finest early works, like 'Interior of a Turkish Bath, Paris', which anticipated the trip, 'Pilgrim's Prayer', and 'Arab Interior'. He relished sketching 'en plein air' in the dusty streets and bazaars, also depicting the sphynx and pyramids, until tiring of the crowds he was attracting. The watercolours produced 1881-'83 were to sustain him throughout his career, inspiring later masterpieces like 'Awaiting an Audience with the Pasha'.
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