Studio RT Ltd

Description

We are delighted to offer for sale this expertly executed and minutely detailed oil on paper portrait of an old Italian peasant woman, by the artist James Hayllar, who has signed the painting in the lower right hand corner and inscribed it Rome 1852. The way that the artist has captured every wrinkle and every nuance of the character of her face is masterful.

James Hayllar was born in Chichester, West Sussex in 1829. He studied art at Cary's Art Academy and at the Royal Academy schools. He travelled in Italy between 1851 and 1852, and this is one of his paintings from that trip. It is quite rare for one of them to reach the market, as we have only seen five surface in the last 30 years three oils from 1852 and two watercolours from 1853.. Of his sojourn in Italy, we know little, only that he obviously went to Florence, as one of the two from 1853 was painted there, and also that Frederick, Lord Leighton reputedly painted his panoramic painting Cimabue's Celebrated Madonna in the studio of James Hayllar in Rome.

James Hayllar was initially a portrait painter, but turned to genre later in his career, his paintings often featuring pretty girls, a rather beautiful example of which is on his wikipdia page. He exhibited at the Royal Academy 1850-98 also the British Institution and the Royal Society of British Artists of which he was elected a Full Member in 1876. He also exhibited at cities in the provinces. There are 23 of his paintings in the National Collection, which can be viewed at ArtUK.org. They are at various museums throughout the country, including the Victoria & Albert, Southampton AG, Nottingham AG, and Bolton & Plymouth AGs. With George Dunlop Leslie, who also lived in Wallingford, James painted a portrait of Queen Victoria to celebrate her Golden Jubilee in 1887, which hangs in Wallingford Town Hall.

In 1855, he married Ellen Phoebe Cavell (1826-6/11/1901), the aunt of Nurse Edith Cavell, who was shot by the Germans for 'treason' in WWI. They had 9 children, 5 of his daughters became artists, Jessica Ellen 1858-1940, was a figure and genre painter, Edith 1860-1948 also a genre painter, Kate fl.1883-1898 flowers & still life, Mary (Mrs. H. W. Wells) fl. 1880-1885 up to her marriage flowers and landscapes and, according to the 1891 Census, Beatrice, although she isn't listed in the Dictionary of British Artists (Collectors' Club), as are her sisters. Jessica was crippled by an accident is 1900 and thereafter she only painted flowers, especially azaleas. One of his sons, Algernon Victor was an engraver, who is also listed, but he died in 1894 after having an operation under chloroform in the Cape Colony. Another son Ernest Theodore died of acute pneumonia in New South Wales on 3rd July 1900.

In 1875 James and the family moved to a rented house called Castle Priory, a large mansion on the banks of the Thames at Wallingford in Berkshire, which we believe he later purchased. The family had previously lived at 15 Mecklenburgh Square, London W.C. one of the most beautiful garden squares in London, which was previously the home of Ellen. James became a Justice of the Peace in 1893.

James and Ellen had moved to Bournemouth in 1899 and he is listed as a retired artist in the Census of 1901. They lived at Red Holme, 14 Cambridge Road, where Ellen suddely died of heart disease on the 6th November of that year. James was still living at this address with his single daughter Jessica in the 1911 Census with a cook and housemaid. James was still very involved in the arts and energetically organised all the exhibitions of the Bournemouth Art Society until his death in 1920.

Of the two watercolours from his time in Italy, one, a study of a frieze in Florence and dated 1853, sold at Christie's in 2013 for £1,000 including premium, and the other, a study of a merchant's head dated Rome, 1852, and virtually the same size as this painting, was sold at Sothebys in 1993 for £1,725 inc. One of the oils was on cardboard of a woman and inscribed Capri 1852 and sold for £950 plus premium at Christie's in 1996 and the oil on canvas from 1852, was a portrait of a girl and was inscribed Capri and was up for sale at Christie's in 1988 for £300-500. There are 184 auction listings for his work over the last 30 years at artprice.com.

The painting has been newly double mounted in two-tone acid free mountboard and is newly framed in a 1 1/8" bronze coloured frame to suit. It will be supplied wired and ready to hang.

Image size: 9 3/4" x 7 1/2" - 24.75cm x 19cm

Frame size: 17 1/4" x 14 3/4" - 43.8cm x 37.45cm

Medium: Oils on paper

Condition: Very good condition for a painting that is 167 years old. The mounts and frame are new.