A Wonderful Set of Six Intricate Italian Gouache's of Landmarks

A fabulous set of fully framed prints by Raphael Kirchner published in 1918 – A Feather in the Cap, Through The Heart, Cupids Captive, Melisande, The Little Sister, Rosalalba, The Sc...

Miss Ethel Mortlock an oil on canvas called 'Town' of Marie Adelaide Brassey (aged 3) who became Marchioness of Willingdon (see below) and is buried in the Nave at Westminster Abbey, signed and dated 1878. Picture 60 x 45 cm Ethel Mortlock (1865-1928) an extraordinary woman and sought after portrait painter, she painted this aged 16!. Born in Cambridge and lived in London. She exhibited at The Royal Academy between years 1878-1893 no less than 29 paintings also at the Grosvenor Galleries. Many of Paintings in museums (See History below and her sitters). Marie Adelaide Brassey - Marie Adelaide Freeman-Thomas, Marchioness of Willingdon, GBE, CI DStJ (née Brassey; 24 March 1875 – 30 January 1960) was a daughter of Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey. On 20 July 1892, she married Freeman Thomas , 1st Marquess of Willingdon (12 September 1866 – 12 August 1941), the future Governor General of Canada and Viceroy of India. She became : Invested as an Imperial Order of the Crown of India (C.I.) in 1917, Decorated with the Kaisar-i-Hind Gold Medal , Invested as a Dame of Justice, Venerable Order of St John (D.J.St. J.),Decorated with the Order of Mercy. Invested as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in December 1917. Invested as a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in the 1924 Birthday Honours. Marie Canyon on the Cowichan River, Vancouver Island is named for her, commemorating a 1930 canoe trip from Cowichan Lake down that river to the city of Duncan, British Columbia. The Lady Willingdon Hospitol in Lahore, Pakistan is named after her .The Lady Willingdon Hospital in Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India, is named after her. About Ethel Mortlock : Her clientèle of sitters included members of the aristocracy and European nobility and included, by her account, the Shah of Persia (1900) and the ‘Chinese Ambassador’, Li Hung Chang (who was actually the Chinese Viceroy), à propos which sitting the Sketch published an illustrated interview with Ethel in August 1896. Ethel was thought pretty grand by the American papers who reported that Chang had to go to her studio for sittings in 1896 rather than she wait upon him. He brought her a roll of silk and a white jade palette as presents. Li Hung Chang was a pretty big cheese; his wife had two thousand servants waiting on her. The Chatham, NY, Courier reported that Ethel had painted every Ambassador who had come to London. These last clients, allegedly by failing to pay the £1000 charged for their portraits, landed Ethel in trouble. They were, of course, conveniently unavailable to the bankruptcy commissioners so this sob-story could not be checked. Strapped for cash she was caught out when the executors of a racehorse owner called Edward Overall Bleakley found, in his effects, IOUs for hundreds of pounds (Bleakley had bequeathed his own portrait by Ethel to Manchester Infirmary [Daily News, 1.8.98]). Ethel went to court, claiming that these were offset by painting commissions, but the court found against her and she was told to pay up. Now saddled with legal costs, she was caught again when Captain Noel Hoare, her man of business, died and it was found that he had mortgaged to Hoare’s Bank, without her knowledge (she said), three properties in Sloane Street that she had been building. She tried to buy back one of these but lost a £500 deposit when she could not complete, making a bad situation rather worse. Bleakley’s executors now broke her and her examination in bankruptcy in 1901 can be read in the PRO as above. Her troubles were attributed to extravagance and betting - the Bleakley IOUs were assumed to be in fact gambling debts and the creditors now included all sorts of tradesmen and the Hotel Cecil where Ethel was then living, presumably in some style. She did not help herself by claiming an income of £250 p.a. when individual commissions were on her own account at the £1000 mark as above, meaning that the Chinese and Persian portraits alone would have occupied her last eight years and she would have obtained these prestigious commissions at the age of 18 (she gave her age as 26). Faced by the raised eyebrows of her superiors in mental arithmetic Ethel then upped her declared usual income to a still rather modest £800. She claimed to keep no sort of cash book, accounts, or any memoranda. Proceedings closed with Ethel declared bankrupt and a number of people out of pocket; the settlement was at 7/6 in the pound. Ethel went back to her easel. Some financial aspects seem never to have been sorted out; funds in Chancery relating to her, Hoare and Bleakley were still being recorded in the London Gazette every few years at least up to 1938; maybe the born in Cambridge; she appears never to have married. The 1881 census had not heard of her - she may have been in the United States at that time. However, standard works about Victorian painters, such as the Antique Collectors’ Club Dictionary of British Artists (Johnson %26 Greutzner, 1976) and their Dictionary of Victorian Painters (C Wood, 2nd edition, 1978) tell us that she was a pupil of Sir William Orchardson (who came to London in 1863) and that by 1904 she had exhibited 29 works at the Royal Academy. I have listed these, usually prestigious, sitters, who included Don Carlos...

A Highly Decorative Pair of Still Life's, Oil On Canvas's, Both framed same, one indistinctly signed other presumed by same hand. Both are very attr...

Alfred Wheeler (1852-1932) Oil on Panel of the Brilliant Racehorse Pretty Polly. Signed and Dated 1906 with Jockey Danny Maher up and Trained by R Gilpin and Owner Major Eustace Loder. Alfred Wheeler was born near Bath in Somerset to John Alfred Wheeler (1821-1877), who retired early from the Army to pursue a successful painting career. Alfred is thought to have studied under his father and to have worked closely with him. He married Catherine Muspratt in 1874 and moved next door to his father at Raglan Villas, Bath. Alfred then followed his father when he moved to Hanwell. Alfred and Catherine had six children of whom Walter Herbert and John Frederick became artists. The Wheeler family specialised in sporting subjects such as horseracing and foxhunting. They also painted animal portraits. There is often confusion between Alfred Wheeler and his father because their style is so similar and they both signed J. A. Wheeler or A. Wheeler senior. They even painted some of the same racehorses and both received commissions from Baron Rothschild and the Prince of Wales. Alfred's work is thought to be less prolific. However, Alfred did contribute to many of his father's paintings toward the end of his life. Generally, Alfred's pictures tend to have more of a photographic quality about them than those of his father. Pretty Polly (March 1901 – 17 August 1931) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. One of the greatest fillies ever to race in Britain, she won fifteen consecutive races and was only the fifth horse to win the British Fillies Triple Crown since its inception in 1814. Pretty Polly also became one of the greatest broodmares of the century. Pretty Polly was bred and owned by Major Eustace Loder and trained by Peter Gilpin, she won nine races from nine starts as a two-year-old in 1903. The following year, Pretty Polly won the 1,000 Guineas as 1-4 favourite, winning easily by three lengths in record time. Other wins as a three-year-old were The Oaks, the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, the St. Leger Stakes (completing the Fillies' Triple Crown) and the Park Hill Stakes with jockey William Lane. Pretty Polly stayed in training as a four and five-year-old, winning six more races, including the Coronation Cup...

Fabulous Signed 20th century oil painting on paper by Ding Bin, 1992, 106 x 106 cm. Ding Bin was born in Beijing in 1960, graduated from the Department of Chinese Painting, CAFA. ...

Wonderful watercolor of working dogs by Raoul Millais. Signed with Monogram HRM Raoul Millais (1901-1999) : Born in Horsham, Sussex in 1901, Raoul Millais was the grandson of the ...

Set of six Gouache paintings of orchids

A rare of 6 mid C19th classical Grand Tour gouaches of unusual scenes depicting Naples, Pompéi and Vesuvius, with broad gold slips and ebonised reeded frames. Circa 1860 Largest 4 - ...

A sensational and high quality set of three Italian early 19th century gouaches in the manner of Michelangelo Maestri. The central gouache depict...

Vintage set one-of-a-kind haute couture gouache fashion sketches by the Parisian Balmain Fashion House circa 1970. Fashion Designer Bio: Perre Alexandre Claudius Balmain (1914-1982) was a well-known designer from France and the founder of Balmain fashion house. He was and still is known for his elegance and sophistication. Balmain studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts, but he spent most of his time designing apparel. From 1934-1939 Balmain worked with Edward Molyneux (fashion designer) who offered him a trial. Balmain then worked after the War with Lucien Lelong and established his own fashion house that displayed bell-shaped and small waist skirts. This was a look that became famous later on through the brand Christian Dior. A family friend, Gertrude Stein wrote a commemorative piece on Balmain for Vogue magazine and following this an order was placed by the Duchess of Windsor. By 1951, Balmain opened various branches of his label across America to sell his prêt-a-porter collections. During this time, he popularized some unique trends such as stoles, evening wear and he made sheath dresses with jackets a fad in the fashion market. He was talented in creating both simple and extravagant clothes, all with the similar aesthetics of graceful and slender lines. Pierre Balmain also created fragrances. For his astounding creations and designs, he was nominated for Best Costume Designer by the Tony Award and Balmain received the Drama Desk Award for designing outstanding costumes for Happy New Year Broadway production in 1980. He designed costumes for Sophia Loren for The Millionaires, 1960 and Josephine Baker for her eponymous revue, 1964. He designed costumes for sixteen films and designed clothes for actresses Mae West and Vivien Leigh. His classic couture dresses are still chic and sought after among international movie stars and socialites such as Kristin Davis...

A set of 3 gouache paintings of frescos from the Doria Pamphilj Palace in Rome, each titled and dedicated in French to Monsignor Cardinal Joseph Doria P...

A beautiful Italian 19th century gouache of Naples, Italy. The wonderfully executed gouache depicts the port and bay of the charming fishing town of Naple...