Radnorshire Fine Arts Ltd

Description

James Smetham – A Man Fishing Under a Tree
Studies from an album of scraps from sketch books by Jas. Smetham.
A Man Fishing Under a Tree: Graphite/pencil and watercolour on white wove paper.
Backing paper: Blue Ingres, laid (1).
Provenance: A transcript of a letter written by the artist’s daughter will be included in the sale.

Condition: There is an unobtrusive diagonal scratch between the two trees just to the right of the man.

James Smetham (1821-1889) produced over four hundred paintings during his lifetime. Like his good friend Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who was a major influence on his art, Smetham was a poet as well as a painter. He also wrote criticisms and recorded fascinating details on many celebrated personages of his day. His paintings ranged from portraits to Biblical interpretations, arcadian vignettes and landscapes. Smetham had great hopes and complicated theories about how audiences would understand and buy his art, but he was sadly disappointed with critical response. However, he received praise from some eminent contemporaries like John Ruskin, George Frederick Watts and Dante Gabriel Rossetti who hailed his friends' paintings as "the flower of modern art".

PAYMENT OPTIONS
PayPal /Card transactions can be processed through PayPal on our company website. We also accept payment by cheque and bank transfer. Deferred payments can be accepted over an agreed period of time whilst paintings remain with us.

CONDITION AND PRESENTATION
In our description, if a picture is shown to be framed then the frame will be included with the sale of the picture. Unless stated otherwise all unframed watercolours, drawings and prints have been mounted onto acid-free conservation board using either Japanese hinging paper or reversible wheat starch past. Unframed and mounted pictures are then wrapped in clear polyester film to protect both the picture and the mount. All conservation work has been carried out by accredited conservators.