William Bickford-Smith - Sold
The Hon. John Collier OBE ROI (1850 – 1934) - Sold
An extremely fine oil painting on canvas depicting the Cornish fuse manufacturer and politician William Bickford Smith by one of the most prominent portrait painters of his generation - The Hon. John Collier. The painting is an exceptional example of the artist's portrait paintings and is executed on an impressive scale. The painting is signed and dated lower left and inscribed on an original label verso. The painting is fully documented in the photocopy of John Collier's Sitters Book (made in 1962 from the original in the possession of the artist's son) in the National Portrait Gallery Heinz Archive and Library. This is the artist's own handwritten record of all his portraits, including name of subject, date, fee charged, and details of any major exhibitions of the picture in question. The sitter book gives the owner of the portrait's address as Trevarno, Helston, Cornwall, which was Bickford-Smith's address, and the price paid as £210 on 15th August. It also tells us that it was engraved in mezzotint by Richard Josey (1841-1906). We are grateful to the National Portrait Gallery for their assistance in cataloguing this lot. An exciting eBay opportunity to acquire an original oil painting by an artist of this calibre in a no reserve auction.
Price: Sold for £941 in a no reserve eBay sale on 5th February 2011
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