Thomas (1740) Smith Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Thomas (1740) Smith Art Value Price Guide

Nov. 26, 2024
Smith of Derby (Thomas), Attributed to. South View of Leicester Abbey, Leicestershire, oil on canvas, [c.1740]
Est: £3,000 - £4,000
Smith of Derby (Thomas, c.1720-1767), Attributed to. South View of Leicester Abbey, Leicestershire, oil on canvas, 77 x 129 cm (30 1/4 x 50 3/4 in), relined, craquelure, some abrasion and rubbing, minor losses, unframed, [possibly circa 1740s] Provenance: Collection of John and Eileen Harris *** The great Augustinian Abbey of St Mary de Pratis at Leicester where Cardinal Wolsey died, was dissolved by Henry VIII's commissioners in 1538. It was subsequently granted to William Parr, brother of the monarch's last Queen and then passed into the Hastings family before being sold by them to William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire, in 1613. Cavendish enlarged the house built by his predecessor to rival the family's Derbyshire seat at Chatsworth. In due course it became the dower house of the earl's intrepid daughter in law Christian, Countess of Devonshire. During the civil war it was used by Charles I who stayed there before meeting the Parliamentary forces at Naseby. As a result, following his defeat, it was looted and burnt. The Cavendish family though held on to the estate until 1737. The painting shows the south front at that time, with the ruined buildings now being admired by visitors, an early depiction of such antiquarian interest. The ancient structure had earlier caught the eye of the engravers Nathaniel and Samuel Buck who published an engraving of the ruins. Comparison between the engraving and the painting show that the building had further collapsed during the intervening years. Yet, the ruins still stand and are now the centrepiece of Abbey Park in the centre of Leicester. The painting is attributed to Thomas Smith of Derby who also painted a view of Chatsworth (see Collection of The Dukes of Devonshire), which was engraved in 1744 which might suggest that this view was a commission by the 2nd Duke of another family property by the local landscape artist.
Forum Auctions - UK
Mar. 13, 2024
Smith of Derby (Thomas, 1721-1767). View of Shipping on the River Avon..., oil
Est: £7,000 - £10,000
Smith of Derby (Thomas, 1721-1767). View of Shipping on the River Avon..., oil * Smith of Derby (Thomas, 1721-1767). View of Shipping on the River Avon from Durdham Down, near Bristol, circa 1756, oil on canvas, relined (cleaned and revarnished by Hamish Dewar Ltd, 14 Mason's Yard, Duke Street, St. James's, London, SW1Y 6BU), 51 x 119.5 cm (20 x 47 ins), Frost and Reed stock (6752) labels, with artist and title details, 'River Avon Scene, Bristol', Hamish Dewar Ltd sticker (marked Davies 1411), and 2004 auction sticker (lot 136) to verso, late 18th century English carved and gilded fluted frame with rosette corners (66 x 135.5 cm) QTY: (1) NOTE: Provenance: Edith and Eleanor Frost, daughters of Walter Frost of Frost & Reed; thence by descent to John Pilkington, (son of Christopher Pilkington, rector of St. Stephen's Church, Bristol from 1968); Sotheby's The British Sale: Paintings, Drawings and Watercolours, 1st July 2004, lot 136 (hammer price £12,000); Estate of Martin Davies, Bristol (owner's documentation supplied with this lot). Literature: Francis Greenacre, From Bristol to the Sea, Artists, the Avon Gorge and Bristol Harbour, 2005, page 28: "Thomas Smith of Derby (c.1720 - 1767) View from Durdham Down c.1756 Oil 490 x 1170 mm Private collection One of the advertised features of a visit to the Hotwell was the pleasure of riding on the broad unbroken stretches of turf on the Downs. Here, an elegant carriage with postillions and outriders approaches Sea Walls. Mr E. Owen in his guide to the Hotwell published in London in 1754 wrote: "For those who love riding there is the finest country in the world; and, even for carriages, nothing can exceed it; the Downs are spacious and open, and we enjoy healthful exercise in a pure air". The artist, Thomas Smith of Derby may first have come to the Hotwell for his health, for we know that he was to die here on 5 September 1767. It is also possible that it was the growing reputation of the spectacular landscape of the Avon Gorge that first attracted him to Bristol. He painted two opposing views of the Avon Gorge from the Downs, one looking back towards the Hotwell and the present view which is also known in two other versions. This particular elongated version was probably a commission for an overmantel or overdoor. Both views were engraved in 1756. Smith was self-taught and much of his work, especially his many landscapes of his home county, is unencumbered with the self-conscious allusions to the work of earlier Continental painters such as Claude Lorrain, Gaspar Dughet or Salvator Rosa that are found in the work of many landscape painters at this time. He did, however, give the middle names of Correggio to one son and of Raphael to the other. In this painting the sparring goats in the foreground are probably derived from engravings after Claude." This view from the Downs looks towards Sea Walls on the right and clearly shows the wall built by John Wallis in 1746 for the safety of visitors to the Hotwells. Beyond is the somewhat elongated tower, known as Cooks Folly. It was built by John Cook, the City Chamberlain, at the end of the seventeenth century to embellish his Sneyd Park estate. In the centre far-distance, is Vanbrughs Penpole Lodge, an eye-catcher and spectacular vantage point for Kings Weston House. The red-tiled roof towards the left is the New Hotwell, a second hot-spring discovered in 1702. John Wesley visited for three weeks in 1754 and found it free from noise and hurry, but by the 1780's it was just a shelter for the quarrymen. The elegant couple just above the goats may well be headed for the New Hotwell and they appear to be on a newly-quarried path that still survives within todays dense woodland. Opposite Cooks Folly on the Somerset side of the Avon is a rare glimpse of the castellated Manor House of Abbotts Leigh, home of the Gordon family, West India merchants and plantation owners. This was to be replaced early in the nineteenth century by Leigh Court, but higher up the hillside. In the centre foreground are three gentlemen, one with a hammer, another holding a geode, perhaps. They may be very early amateur geologists in pursuit of Bristol Diamonds, a feature of the Avon Gorge that had been celebrated since the sixteenth century.
Dominic Winter Auctions
Dec. 06, 2023
Attributed to Thomas Smith of Derby (1715-1767)
Est: £200 - £300
Attributed to Thomas Smith of Derby (1715-1767) View of St Vincent's rocks and the Hot-Wells near Bristol signed or inscribed lower right 'Thos Smith' pencil and watercolour 20 x 31cm The present view is nearly identical to that depicted in an etching of this subject which was made by Antoine Benoist in 1756 after the original by Thomas Smith of Derby. A painting of this composition, but with some differences, attributed to Smith, is in Bristol Museums.
Cheffins
Jun. 29, 2023
Thomas Smith of Derby (Derby c. 1720 - 1767 Bristol), A view of Oxford looking across from the Southern Edge of Christ Church Meadows with figures
Est: £25,000 - £30,000
Thomas Smith of Derby (Derby c. 1720 - 1767 Bristol)A view of Oxford looking across from the Southern Edge of Christ Church Meadows with figuresOil on canvasSigned, 'Thos Smith'Hailed by his contemporaries as a landscape painter on a par with Salvator Rosa, Claude, Poussin and Vernet, Thomas Smith of Derby appears to have been the, largely self-taught, son of the currier.Smith was one of the first artists to specialise in beautiful and accurately observed depictions of the English countryside. In fact, he wouldÐ remain in and around Derby for most of his life, to the point of becoming synonymous with the place. In 1741 he married a lady called Hannah, most likely Hannah Sylvester, and they had four children together, including the renowned painter John Raphael Smith (1751 - 1812) and the miniaturist Thomas Corregio Smith. Their daughter Sophia also became an artist.ÐDuring his own formative years Smith is thought to have come into contact with the works of itinerant landscape painters like Jan Siberechts, Leonard Knyff and Pieter Tillemans, all of whom worked, albeit at different times, for the Earl and Dukes of Devonshire at Chatsworth. He may well have seen landscapes by John Wotton and his pupil George Lambert in other local collections. Judging by his treatment of trees and foliage it would appear that he had been further influenced by Italian and Netherlandish artists, and we know that collected, and sometimes dealt in, such paintings himself in later life.ÐTo enable wider distribution Smith's works, starting with his landscapes of the Peak District, were reproduced as series of engravings, initially by himself and subsequently by some of the best engravers of the time; established names such as French Huguenot refugee FranÐois Vivares, with whom Smith would collaborate throughout his life, and GÐrard Scotin, another Huguenot settler, who would go on to engrave some of the Hogarth's famous series Marriage a la Mode. The artist very rarely signed his oil paintings, presumably because they were intended for engraving (by which time his authorship would be acknowledged by the engraver).ÐHe kept most of his original works with him until he died in 1767 at the Hot Wells, Bristol, after which they were sold off in two major auctions, the latter taking place in the Great Piazza, Covent Garden, in February 1769.Thomas Smith lived in Bridge Gate in Derby and is known to have exhibited at the Society of Artists and the Free Society of Artists from 1760 to 1767.ÐDimensions:(Canvas) 27.25 in. (H) x 48.25 in. (W)(Frame) 51.75 in. (H) x 30.4 in. (W)
Sloane Street Auctions
Jul. 07, 2021
Thomas Smith of Derby (active Britain, 1745-1767) View of Oxford
Est: £7,000 - £10,000
Thomas Smith of Derby (active Britain, 1745-1767) View of Oxford signed 'Thos Smith' (lower left) oil on canvas 69.2 x 122.5cm (27 1/4 x 48 1/4in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Bonhams
Nov. 27, 2019
Thomas Smith (c.1740-1767) British. "A View of St Vincent's Rocks, and the Hot Wells, near Bristol", Engraving, 14" x 20.5", and another by the same hand, 'A View from Durdham Down near Bristol', Two (2). Provenance: Frost and Reed Ltd, London.
Est: £60 - £80
Thomas Smith (c.1740-1767) British. "A View of St Vincent's Rocks, and the Hot Wells, near Bristol", Engraving, 14" x 20.5", and another by the same hand, 'A View from Durdham Down near Bristol', Two (2). Provenance: Frost and Reed Ltd, London.
John Nicholson's Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers
Jul. 01, 2004
THOMAS SMITH OF DERBY FL.1745-1767
Est: £25,000 - £30,000
oil on canvas
Sotheby's
Jul. 01, 2004
THOMAS SMITH OF DERBY FL.1745-1767
Est: £15,000 - £20,000
oil on canvas
Sotheby's