Edmund Dulac

Early 20th Century French crayon drawing of a group of young people

Lord Frederick Leighton (British, 1830-1896) A very early study of a Medieval Minstrel pencil on paper the fragment measures approx. 19.1/2 x 13 in. (49.5 x 33 cm.) Provenance: Gifted by Leighton to his cousin Edith Emily Jellicorse, nee Garnham, and thence by descent. We would like to thank Daniel Robins, the curator at Leighton House for the authenticating this work in full. Daniel has suggested this study would have been executed when Leighton was studying in Frankfurt Leighton was born in Scarborough to Augusta Susan and Dr. Frederic Septimus Leighton. He received his artistic training on the European continent, first from Eduard von Steinle and then from Giovanni Costa. According to Daniel Robbins, the curator at Leighton House, This drawing comes from the time Leighton studied under Eduard von Steinle. He then studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence. From 1855 to 1859 he lived in Paris, where he met Ingres, Delacroix, Corot and Millet. In 1860, he moved to London, where he associated with the Pre-Raphaelites. In 1864 he became an associate of the Royal Academy and in 1878 he became its President (1878–96). American art critic Earl Shinn claimed at the time that "Except Leighton, there is scarce any one capable of putting up a correct frescoed figure in the archway of the Kensington Museum." His paintings represented Britain at the great 1900 Paris Exhibition. Leighton was knighted at Windsor in 1878 and was created a baronet, of Holland Park Road eight years later. He was the first painter to be given a peerage. Leighton remained a bachelor and rumours of him having an illegitimate child with one of his models, in addition to the supposition that Leighton may have been a homosexual, continue to be debated. On his death his barony was extinguished after existing for only a day; this is a record in the Peerage. His house in Holland Park, London has been turned into a museum. It contains many of his drawings and paintings, as well as some of his former art collection including a painting dedicated to Leighton by Sir John Everett Millais. The house also features many of Leighton's inspirations, including his collection of Iznik tiles. Its centrepiece is the magnificent Arab Hall. Leighton was an enthusiastic volunteer soldier, enrolling with the first group to join the 38th Middlesex (Artists') Rifle Volunteer Corps (later to be known as the Artists Rifles...

William Heath Robinson (British, 1872 - 1944) 'Boring The First Tunnel With An Early Type Of Rotary Excavator, And The Red Flag', circa 1935 (railway ribaldry was published in this year) The former signed 'W. Heath Robinson (lower left) and inscribed with title (lower left and right) The former to mount 14 X 10.1/4in. (35.5 X 26cm.) The latter 1.1/2 X 8.1/2in. (3.8 X 21.6 cm.) Literature: Railway Ribaldry, first published by the Great Western Railway, Paddington, 1935. William Heath Robinson was an English cartoonist and illustrator best known for drawings of ridiculously complicated machines for achieving simple objectives. During the First World War, he drew large numbers of cartoons, depicting ever-more unlikely secret weapons being used by the combatants. In the UK the term "Heath Robinson" entered popular language during this time as a description of any unnecessarily complex and implausible contrivance. Its continuing popularity was undoubtedly linked to Second World War Britain's shortages and the need to "make do and mend". In the course of his work, Robinson also wrote and illustrated three childrens books including The Adventures of Uncle Lubin (1902) which is regarded as the genesis of his depiction of unlikely machines. The inventions he drew were frequently powered by steam boilers or kettles, heated by candles or a spirit lamp and usually kept running by balding, bespectacled men in overalls. There would be complex pulley arrangements, threaded by lengths of knotted string. One of his most famous series of illustrations accompanied the first Professor Branestawm book written by Norman Hunter. The stories provided a perfect backdrop for Robinson's drawings. One of the automatic analysis machines built for Bletchley Park during the Second World War to assist in the decryption of German message traffic was named "Heath Robinson" in his honour. He died in September 1944 during the Second World War and is buried in East Finchley Cemetery. The Heath Robinson Museum in Pinner opened in October 2016 to house a collection of nearly 1,000 original artworks owned by The William Heath Robinson Trust. In the Wallace and Gromit...

Figures is an original artwork realized by Auguste François-Marie Gorguet (1862-1927) . Original pen and black ink drawing on paper. The state of preservation is good. Hand-signed and with C.A. Jouge collection stamp. Thick sheet stuck on cardboard. Auguste François-Marie Gorguet (1862-1927), was a French artist. Painter of mythological composition, genre scene, portraits, landscapes, murals...

Figures is an Original china ink drawing realized by Bernard Naudin (1876-1946). The artwork is in good condition on abrown paper, included a white cardboard passpartout (37x55 cm)....