British School

The Farmer - 19th century Portrait oil over a photographic base

circa 1880

ARTHUR BOYD HOUGHTON (1836-1875) Sunday Afternoon Signed l.l.: Houghton Oil on canvas Framed 20.5 by 25.5 cm., 8 by 10 in. (frame size 30.5 by 34.5 cm., 12 by 13 ½ in.) Provenance: William Drummond; Private collection. Probably painted in 1864, the present work evokes the peaceful contentment of everyday family life, with its small scale further reinforcing the intimacy of the scene. It is one of a series of small intimate family scenes produced during this happy period of his life. A male figure, possibly the artist’s himself, slumbers in a chair, a handkerchief draped over his face whilst Susan, the artist’s young wife reads by the window. Their child, either Arthur or Georgina, plays on the floor with a discarded newspaper. The room is at 4 Adelaide Villas, St Mary’s Grove, Richmond, the house Arthur and Susan moved to shortly after their marriage in 1861. The chaise and window, with its pots of geraniums, also feature in the 1864 painting Coach and Horses (private collection) which depicts Susan, with her hair down, playing with Arthur and Georgina. A pot of daffodils placed beside the same geraniums in the present work suggest it may have been painted in the spring of that year. Such domestic bliss would shortly come to a tragic end when Susan died of pyaemia following the birth of their third child in June 1864. Houghton was born in India, the son of a captain in the East India Company’s marine service. Both is father and older brother were accomplished military draughtsmen and he probably received early training from them. His family returned to England in the early 1850s and he began studies at Leigh’s and the Langham...

ARTHUR LEMON (1850-1912) New Forest Inscribed with title and Goupil Gallery details on the reverse Oil on panel 15 by 22 cm., 6 by 8 ½ in. (frame size 24 by 31 cm., 9 ½ by 12 ¼ in...

Provenance Acquired by the gallery from the artist

Was born in 1993 in the city of Marganets, Ukraine. Artist Gorbachenko Multiple participants of group and solo exhibitions and Art Fair Vilnius. The artist's works are in private col...