Robert O'Rorke

Orpheus - Late 20th Century British watercolour by Robert O'Rorke

1993

SIR HUBERT VON HERKOMER, RA, RWS (1849-1914) The Pipe’s of Pan Signed with initials and dated 26/2/74 Watercolour and bodycolour 17 by 22 cm., 6 ¾ by 8 ¾ in. (frame size 42 by 49....

DAVID SCOTT, RSA (British 1806-1849) Charon’s Ferry Signed with initials and indistinctly inscribed l.l. Watercolour Unframed, in mount only 29 by 40.5 cm., 11 ½ by 16 in. (mount size 40.5 by 55.5 cm., 16 by 22 in.) Provenance: William Bell Scott, London; Mrs Balton; Private collection. David Scott was born in Edinburgh. He studied art under his father, the engraver, Robert Scott. He exhibited his first picture oil painting, Hopes of Early Genius Dispelled by Death in 1828, becoming a regular exhibitor at the Royal Scottish Academy. In 1832 he visited Italy. He specialised in large canvases of historical or symbolist subjects, being much influence by William Blake. From the mid 1830s he became absorbed in a series of designs and illustration for Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner, Bunyan’s Pilgrim...

ROBERT TRAILL ROSE (1863-1942) Primordium Vitae Signed with monogram; signed, inscribed with title and the artist’s address and dated 1899 on a labe...

PAUL SANDBY (1731-1809) A Young Lady with Two Beaux Pencil and brown wash Framed 11 by 13.5 cm., 4 ¼ by 5 ¼ in. (frame size 27.5 by 30 cm., 10 ¾ by 11 ¾ in.) Provenance: R F Pearce; Agnew, London; Private collection. Sandby was born in Nottingham and moved to London in 1745. He and his brother Thomas first worked in the military drawing department at the Tower of London, later working on a military survey of new roads and bridges in the Highlands. On leaving this post in 1751 he spent some time living with his brother who had been appointed Deputy Ranger of Windsor Great Park. There he assisted his brother, and made a series of drawings of the castle, town and neighbourhood. In 1760 he settled in London where he contributed to the first exhibition of the Society of Artists where he regularly exhibited until the foundation of the Royal Academy in 1768, becoming one of its founder members. In same year he was appointed chief drawing...

RICHARD WESTALL, RA (1765-1836) Cupid Sleeping; from a poem of Mrs Robinson - The Duchess of Devonshire Discovers the Sleeping Cupid Watercolour on paper, oval 36 by 44.5 cm., 14 ¼ by 18 in. (frame size 55 by 66 cm., 21 ¾ by 26 in.) Exhibited: London, Royal Academy, 1792, no.448. Richard Westall was bon in Reepham, near Norwich. Initially apprenticed to a London silver engraving he began studying at the Royal Academy Schools from 1785 and exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy between 1784 and 1836. Westall became an Associate member of the Royal Academy in 1792 and a full member in 1794. Westall painted in both oil and watercolour, his works being romantic and neoclassical in style. He contributing to both Boydell’s Shakespeare Gallery and Fuseli’s Milton Gallery and was also a prolific book illustrator of both fiction and poetry including works by Sir Walter Scott and Byron, whose portrait he also painted. For a time he was also art master to the young Princess Victoria. This is probably Westall’s 1792 Royal Academy exhibit (no.448). The subject was inspired by the poem Cupid Sleeping by the poetess-actress Mary Darby Robinson, which had been published in the previous year. The poem was dedicated to Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and the picture show the Duchess discovering the sleeping cupid who she then relieves of his bow and arrows. Mrs Robinson was not only the Duchess’s protégée but also the first public mistress of the Prince of Wales. William Nutter’s engraving of Westall’s picture was also dedicated to the Duchess of Devonshire. Close in a woodbine's tangled shade, The blooming god asleep was laid; His brows with mossy roses crown'd; His golden darts lay scatter'd round; To shade his auburn, curled head, A purple canopy was spread, Which gently with the breezes play'd, And shed around a soften'd shade. Upon his downy smiling cheek, Adorned with many a "dimple sleek," Beam'd glowing health and tender blisses, His coral lip...

OLIVER MESSEL (1904-1978) Egyptian Costume Design for Caesar and Cleopatra - 1945 Signed l.r.: Oliver Messel Watercolour and chalks heightened ...

A wonderfully evocative scene of a passenger looking out to sea on the deck of an ocean liner - from the golden age of cruising. Sir David Muirhead Bone On a P & O, Mediterranean ev...

Amorous Couple Watercolor on laid paper, c. 1810 Unsigned Provenance: Emile Wolf (1899-1996) The art collection of Emile Wolf was dispersed by Sotheby and Stair Galleries. Condition: Excellent 22K gold leaf finishes corner frame (see photo) “Mr. Wolf’s collection reflects a lifelong commitment to the arts. Although a mainstay of the Old Masters art scene in New York, Mr. Wolf’s collection spanned centuries and genres. He was an impassioned collector, and his Fifth Avenue apartment was filled with paintings and drawings that hung from floor to ceiling in every room. Space void of art was lined with an extensive library of art books that fueled his ardent collecting. Mr. Wolf took great joy in sharing this collection and his ideas with art historians, collectors, dealers and university students. The Wolf collection included masterworks from every influential and groundbreaking Impressionist and modern artist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, ranging from an outstanding grouping of works on paper by Picasso, Pissarro, and Cezanne to a Renoir oil...

Recruits on a March Ink and watercolor on paper, mounted on support Unsigned Condition: watercolor sheet laid down on paper, moderately faded Original Ackermann frame and matting Ima...

Precious Watercolor attributed to James WARD (1769-1859) - England, 1830-1840. The Fisherman' S Family. Measurements : View : 20"x14.6" (51x37 cm), With frame : 26.6"x21.5" (67.5x54....

Louis Gallait (1810-1887) Portrait of a Gentleman, Watercolor and gouache on paper, square white lines, 24 x 16 cm Stamp of the Louis Gallait Estate on the mount on the lower righ...

France circa 1850 The Bohème artist in his workshop Watercolor on paper 15.5 x 21.5 cm In good condition except a small tear (visible on the photographs) on the upper right border. I...