ERNEST PROCTER (BRITISH, 1886-1935) ERNEST PROCTER (BRITISH, 1886-1935) Section Saintaire Anglaise No.19 the Abeelenhof Poste signed and dated 'Ernest Procter 17' (lower left) watercolour and white heightening 16 x 27 cm. (6 1/4 x 10 5/8 in.) Exhibited London, David Cohen Fine Art, The Great War Exhibition, November 1961, cat.no.15
Ernest Procter NEAC ARA, British 1885-1935 - Back of Hotel Pyl (HQ FAU) after Destruction, 1918; watercolour and pencil on paper, signed, dated and titled lower left 'Ernest Proctor 18', 53.5 x 24.5 cm Exhibited: David Cohen Fine Art, London, 'The Great War: A Third Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture', 1st – 17th November 1991, cat. no.140 (titled 'Back of the Friends' Ambulance Unit H.Q. - Dunkirk, after destruction') Note: This work was produced whilst Procter was serving as the Official War Artist for the Friends’ Ambulance Unit, 1916-1919 in France and Flanders.
Ernest Procter (1886-1935), Eglisé St. Sulpice, Paris, signed, watercolour on board, 37 x 27 cm, and another by the same hand of a Parisian street, unsigned watercolour on board, 37 x 38 cm, both framed and glazed. Qty: (2)
Lot 287 Ernest Procter English (1885-1935) A Buddhist Family (circa 1920) oil on canvas signed lower right 72 1/4 x 60 1/4 inches frame dimensions: 78 x 66 x 3 inches,large ornate carved wood frame Additional Information: with unfinished painting to canvas verso Provenance: Property from the Collection of Seymour Stein Sotheby's, London, 15 July 2008, lot 121,Fine Arts Society Ltd., New Bond St., London, June 1977,
Ernest Procter NEAC ARA, British 1885-1935 - Belgian Civilian Cases, 1917; pencil and watercolour on paper, signed and dated lower right 'Ernest Procter 17', 30.5 x 23.5 cm Provenance: with Blond Fine Art Ltd., London; Mr. D H Gault, purchased from the above on the 26th May 1983 (according to the label attached to the reverse of the frame)
Lot 70 Ernest Procter English (1885-1935) A Buddhist Family (circa 1920) oil on canvas signed lower right 72 1/4 x 60 1/4 inches frame dimensions: 78 x 66 x 3 inches,large ornate carved wood frame Additional Information: with unfinished painting to canvas verso Provenance: Property from the Collection of Seymour Stein Sotheby's, London, 15 July 2008, lot 121,Fine Arts Society Ltd., New Bond St., London, June 1977,
Ernest Procter ARA, British 1885-1935 - Cathedral interior; oil on canvas, signed lower left 'Proctor', 61 x 50.6 cm Note: This early work by the artist demonstrates the influence of his teacher, the Newlyn School painter Stanhope Forbes, in its tonal colours and interest in the fall of light through glass windows. Proctor studied and worked in Cornwall at the Forbes School of Art, where he met his wife, Dod Proctor. The pair would remain there for the rest of their lives. Please refer to department for condition report
Lot 197 Ernest Procter English (1885-1935) A Buddhist Family (circa 1920) oil on canvas signed lower right 72 1/4 x 60 1/4 inches frame dimensions: 78 x 66 x 3 inches,large ornate carved wood frame Additional Information: with unfinished painting to canvas verso Provenance: Property from the Collection of Seymour Stein Sotheby's, London, 15 July 2008, lot 121,Fine Arts Society Ltd., New Bond St., London, June 1977,
Ernest Procter (British, 1886-1935) Home in Danger signed and dated 'Ernest Procter 29' (lower right) oil on canvas 35 x 46cm (13 3/4 x 18 1/8in). with a further unfinished oil of a harbour scene, on the reverse, by the same hand For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Ernest Procter A.R.A. (British 1885-1935) Landscape, 1915 signed and dated (lower left), oil on canvas, and with harbour scene to the reverse of canvas (49cm x 59.5cm (19.3in x 23.4in))
Ernest Procter A.R.A. (British 1885-1935) The Long Range Bombardment of Dunkirk, circa 1918 signed, indisctinctly dated and inscribed 'FRANCE' (lower right), oil on canvas (49cm x 59.5cm (19.3in x 23.4in)) Footnote: Literature: TIS, 'About Dod & Ernest Procter', Colour, April 1919, vol. 10, no.3, p. 51 (illustrated) Elizabeth Knowles, ‘Ernest Procter ARA 1886-1935’, Dod Procter RA 1892-1982 and Ernest Procter ARA 1886-1935, exh. cat., Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1990, p. 32. This major work is the long-lost The Long Range Bombardment of Dunkirk which has recently come to light in a private collection. As Elizabeth Knowles has explained ‘Ernest [Procter] made relatively few major oil paintings of war subjects, perhaps the most notable being The Long Range Bombardment of Dunkirk from sketches and notes made on the spot. (Elizabeth Knowles, ‘Ernest Procter ARA 1886-1935’, Dod Procter RA 1892-1982 and Ernest Procter ARA 1886-1935, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1990, p. 32). Ernest Procter was born in Tynemouth, Northumberland into a Quaker family. He trained at Leeds Art School and then under Stanhope Forbes in Newlyn, where he met the artist Doris ‘Dod’ Shaw (1890-1972). They furthered their studies at the Académie Colarossi in Paris and married in 1912; Dod was thereafter known by her married name and their son Bill was born the following year. The couple worked and exhibited together, most significantly on the decoration of the Kokine Palace, Rangoon, Burma in 1919-20 and in joint exhibitions held at The Fine Art Society and the Leicester Galleries in 1913 and 1926 respectively. Following the Procters’ return from Burma, Ernest established an art school in Newlyn with Harold Harvey (1874-1971), which they ran until the mid-1920s. Procter played a leading role in the Cornish art world, whilst maintaining a high profile in London. He was a member of the St Ives Society of Arts and Newlyn Society of Artists, joined the New English Art Club in 1929 and was elected an Associate Member of the Royal Academy three years later. He was best known for the allegorical figure compositions and landscapes which were regularly shown in group exhibitions such as those at the Royal Glasgow Institute, Royal Hibernian Academy and the International Society of Sculptors, Painters & Gravers. In 1934, Procter was appointed Director of Studies in Design and Craft at Glasgow School of Art, but he died the following year. Memorial exhibitions were mounted at the Leicester Galleries and Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle. In line with his religious beliefs, Procter declared himself a conscientious objector on the outbreak of World War One. The Friends' Ambulance Unit was established soon afterwards by a group of young Quakers, as a means for civilian volunteers to contribute to the war effort in a non-violent way. The Unit travelled to Dunkirk in October 1914 under the auspices of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St John of Jerusalem. Procter’s personnel records reveal that he joined it on 11 April 1916, arrived in Dunkirk on 12 June 1916 and served until his demobilisation on 2 February 1919. His duties included care of the wounded, ambulance maintenance and quartermaster tasks. He also designed and decorated Red Cross huts and camp entertainment, whilst recording his experiences in sketches, drawings and paintings as circumstances permitted. Towards the end of the war, Procter applied to the Ministry of Information for a permit to depict the work of the Red Cross on the Western Front. He was engaged under Scheme 3 of the British War Memorials Committee, whereby in return for facilities, Procter was to offer the first option on all the work he made to the committee, with no salary or expenses. His permit was granted in November 1918. This gave him just a few months before demobilisation to produce the work he carried out for the Royal Army Medical Corps section and was presented for approval in February 1919; six watercolours were acquired and are now in the collection of the Imperial War Museum. They are held alongside a significant number of Procter’s World War One drawings and one of his sketchbooks from the period (see https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/search?query=ernest+procter&pageSize=30&media-records=all-records&style=list accessed 1 April 2022). Long Range Bombardment of Dunkirk is thought to be an extraordinarily personal and direct account of the major German offensive against the French city which took place over 20 to 23 March 1918, culminating in the use of a German long-range gun situated twenty miles away. Indeed, the painting could act as an illustration of the diary entry for 24 March 1918 written by Procter’s friend Molly Evans (1890-1974), who served as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse with the Friends’ Ambulance Unit based in the local Queen Alexandra Hospital. This concludes ‘unending stream of sorting people, carrying bedsteads, personal belongings, mixed up. Glorious sunny day. Queer scene. Frenchmen, lunatics, Chinese carrying things on bamboo sticks, nuns, English sisters, patients, officers, orderlies, all collecting ‘goods’, a procession of Chinese carrying 7 coffins through it all. Crashing shells at intervals. A weary & never-to-be-forgotten day.’ (see https://www.morganfourman.com/articles/hospital-evacuation-under-fire-dunkirk-20-23-mar-1918/ accessed 26 March 2022). Seen from the point of view of the fleeing civilians whom Procter was in the region to aid, he depicts the nearby dunes strewn with refugees and members of the military, streaming away from the city which burns in the background. The towers of the church of Saint Éloi and the town hall are visible in the skyline – of which an annotated sketch is in the Imperial War Museum’s archive (War Artist Archive: Ernest Procter, ART/WA1/298, 'Belgium misc’ portfolio). The image is full of sensitively observed human relationships, between adults and children of all ages, interspersed with animals. Children play whilst grown-ups survey the scene before them, overlooked by a cross on a dune to the upper left, which may refer to Christ’s crucifixion at Calvary. Sunshine and shadow are captured over the flow of the dunes, whilst a use of bold colour, including red, green, pink and orange, attracts the eye throughout the complex composition. The importance of Long Range Bombardment of Dunkirk was recognised immediately. It was reproduced in colour and singled out for extensive praise in an article about Ernest and Dod Procter in Colour of April 1919, in which its author wrote that, despite the tragedy of its subject matter: ‘I…consider his “Long Range Bombardment of Dunkirk” a really remarkable picture…To begin with, it is extraordinarily attractive at the first glance. The eye taking in the whole picture at once is fascinated by its arrangement of colour patterns: there is something Japanese in its composition and even in its colour. Once attracted the eye begins to inform the mind and the mind browses over every square inch, taking in every anecdote, every pictorial detail, wondering how it was possible to combine so much pure art with so much pure story – and every artist must be delighted with the ingenious manner in which he has contrived to make the many-figured whole hang together as one thing. He comes near to Peter Brueghel in his incidents, but Peter Brueghel could not have reached him in composition. This Bombardment I say again is a remarkable picture.’ (“TIS”, 'About Dod & Ernest Procter', Colour, April 1919, vol. 10, no.3, p. 51 (illustrated) & p.52). Procter was to develop the narrative richness, orchestration of complex figure groups and skilful use of colour seen in this work in further major paintings created after his return to Cornwall, including On the Beach at Newlyn, 1919 and Cornish Beach Scene, c.1922, both in private collections. His work is held in numerous public collections. Provenance: Private Collection, Scotland. Believed to have been purchased in 1948, and by descent in the same family to the current owner.
Lot 271 Ernest Procter English (1885-1935) A Buddhist Family (circa 1920) oil on canvas signed lower right 72 1/4 x 60 1/4 inches frame dimensions: 78 x 66 x 3 inches,large ornate carved wood frame Additional Information: with unfinished painting to canvas verso Provenance: Property from the Collection of Seymour Stein Sotheby's, London, 15 July 2008, lot 121,Fine Arts Society Ltd., New Bond St., London, June 1977,
ATTRIBUTED TO ERNEST PROCTER (BRITISH 1886-1935) Lady with Hat, 1928 oil on panel 74 x 89 cm (29 1/8 x 35 in.) PROVENANCE With Barry Friedman Gallery, New York LOT NOTES Luca Scacchi Gracco 41, Solferino Milano inscripted with pencil, Luca Scacchi Gracco is an art dealer and painter in Milan. CONDITION Observed in frame. A small scratch in the upper left corner visible with the naked eye. Visible horizontal lines extending from the left of the painting towards the center of the painting. N.B. All lots are sold in as-is condition at the time of sale. Please note that any condition statement regarding works of art is given as a courtesy to our clients in order to assist them in assessing the condition. The report is a genuine opinion held by Shapiro Auctions and should not be treated as a statement of fact. The absence of a condition report or a photograph does not preclude the absence of defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of any others. Shapiro Auctions, LLC., including its consultants and agents, shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.
The Property of a Connoisseur, London ERNEST PROCTER ARA (BRITISH 1886–1935) Landscape with horse and cart on a lane Signed and dated Ernest Procter. 09. (lower left) Oil on canvas board 19.5 x 25.5cm (7 3/4 x 10in) Together with a companion by the same hand, a pair (2) Delouche, Danielle. “CUBISME ET CAMOUFLAGE.” Guerres Mondiales Et Conflits Contemporains, no. 171, 1993, pp. 123–137. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25730967. Daviet, Jean-Pierre. “Art Déco, Résonances De L'ancien Et Du Nouveau.” Vingtième Siècle. Revue D'histoire, no. 124, 2014, pp. 185–187., www.jstor.org/stable/24674853.
Ernest Procter (British, 1886-1935) Holne Bridge on the River Dart signed and dated 'ERNEST PROCTER .35' (lower left)oil on board74 x 99.9cm (29 1/8 x 39 5/16in). Provenance: Sale; Bonhams, Knightsbridge, 11 January 2006, lot 535 (as River Dart), where acquired by the present ownerPrivate Collection, U.K.
ERNEST PROCTER A.R.A. (1886-1935) SLEEPING QUARTERS OF THE FRENCH CIVILIAN EVACUATION SECTION, OXELARE, 1917 signed l.c.: Ernest Procter watercolour over pencil 26 cm by 21 cm; 10 in by 8 1/2 in Procter served as a member and official artist for the Friend's Ambulance Unit in Dunkirk from 1916-17 executing numerous fine drawings chronicling his intense personal experiences working there. The Imperial War Museum holds a number of drawings and a sketchbook by the artist from this period. In 1918 he was appointed Official War Artist for the Ministry of Information.
Ernest Procter, A.R.A. (1886-1935) Crowds by the harbour at boulogne signed and dated l.l.: Ernest Procter/19 watercolour and gouache 27.5 cm by 42.5 cm; 10 ¾ in by 16 ¾ in
"Bathers" A Summer Beach Scene signed 'ERNEST PROCTER' (lower left); further signed and inscribed 'BATHERS/Ernest Procter/23 Elsworthy Road/London/NW3' (on the canvas overlap) oil on canvas 25.4 x 30.4 cm. (10 x 12 in.)
Ernest Proctor ARA, NEAC, IS, (1886-1935), A cottage interior with a lady wearing a Dutch cap sewing, signed and dated (19) '11, watercolour and pastel, 41cm by 50cm
Ernest Procter, A.R.A. (1886-1935) On the beach at Newlyn signed and dated 'ERNEST PROCTER.19.' (lower right) oil on canvas 28 x 36¼ in. (71.1 x 92 cm.)
Ernest Procter (British, 1886-1935) Civilian Evacuation Section, alternatively titled A Battlefield in France Signed and dated "Ernest Procter 18" l.r., inscribed on two period labels (one in the artist's hand) affixed to the backing. Watercolor on paper, sheet size 5 x 8 in. (12.7 x 20.3 cm), framed. Condition: Not examined out of frame.
Style of Ernest Procter NEA ARA 1886-1935- Grounds of a Hospital; gouache, bears signature, 29x33cm: European school mid-late 20th century- portrait of a young boy; oil on board, signed: together with other 19/20th century etchings, engravings and reproductions by and after various hands, (a lot)
Church,...From the West End,...Marshes Each signed and inscribed "Ernest Procter...," the first with a label from Doll & Richards, Boston, the second with a Foster Brothers, Boston label. Watercolor and gouache on paper, sight sizes to 19 3/4 x 11 1/2 in. (50 x 31.6 cm), framed. Condition: Subtle toning/fading, not examined out of frame.
The Terrace, Versailles signed 'Ernest Procter' (lower right), signed again and inscribed 'ERNEST PROCTER/THE TERRACE, VERSAILLES' (on a label attached to the stretcher) oil on canvas 40 x 50 in. (101.5 x 127 cm.) Painted in 1914 PROVENANCE The Leslie Oaks Collection, Penzance. EXHIBITION London, Royal Academy, 1914, no. 424. NOTES After their marriage in 1912, Ernest and Dod Procter moved to Versailles, where they remained until the outbreak of war in 1914. The palace was a favourite subject for both artists; Dod exhibited a picture of The Terrace, Versailles at the Royal Academy in 1913 and Ernest exhibited the present work there the following year.
