Thursday, October 9, 2008

William Clarke Wontner - Honeysuckle



signed and dated l.l.: W. Wontner 1907

oil on canvas
56 ½ by 38 ½ in.

probably Royal Academy, 1907 no. 263, entitled “Portrait of a Lady”.

Wontner, who is more commonly associated with Classical and Oriental beauties, also enjoyed a thriving portrait practice. His commissioned works such as those of Mrs. Duff Assheton-Smith (New Gallery 1900), Elsie Maud Huggins (dated 1900) as well as Colonel John Gordon Wolridge-Gordon and his wife Isabel Wolridge-Gordon (both circa 1911), all showed the model, as here, in contemporary dress. Although it is tempting to suggest that the present portrait was of his wife, Jessie Marguerite nĂ©e Keene (1871-1950), who sat for a number of the artist’s works, the young lady is clearly younger than the 35-year-old Jessie. The size of the canvas also suggests a commissioned work and given its date can be assumed to be Wontner’s 1907 Royal Academy exhibit. The young lady holds a bunch of honeysuckle, a flower that symbolized friendship, love and devotion.


This painting is to be included in the forthcoming Wontner Catalogue Raisonné, currently being compiled by Alice Munro-Faure, to whom we are grateful for the above entry.

http://www.sothebys.com/app/live/lot/LotDetail.jsp?g=Text+%26+Images&count=20+Lots+per+page&sort=http%3A%2F%2Fbrowse.sothebys.com%2F%3Fcat%3D1%26dp%3DBritish%2BPictures%2BAfter%2B1850%26event_id%3D27787%26g%3D1%26hp%3D%26hpc%3D%26i%3D1%26is_past%3D1%26nb%3D1%26q%3D%26sale_id%3DL06131%26slabrowsesort%3Dlot_sort_number%26u1%3Ddp&sale_number=L06131&live_lot_id=41

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