Lot 301: Charles de Sousy Ricketts Swiss, 1866-1931 , Orpheus and Eurydice oil on canvas

signed with monogram l.l. and on the reverse oil on canvas

135 by 107cm., 53 by 42in.

Bradford Art Gallery, n.d.
London, Royal Academy, Summer Exhibition , 1923, no. 203
Manchester, Works by Orpen, McEvoy, Ricketts , 1933, no. 76
London, Royal Academy, Commemorative Exhibition of the Works of the Late Members, 1933, no. 339

Sir Edmund Davis, London
E.P. Bateson
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, 23 May 1996, lot 224

Ricketts was an avid classical scholar and collector. Greek myths provided the subject matter for many of his works. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice fascinated Ricketts. He first developed the theme in his acclaimed sculpture Orpheus and Eurydice, a small bronze, which he exhibited at the Carfax Gallery in 1906.

Sir Edmund Davis (1862-1939), the first owner of the present work, was a major collector of British, Nineteenth Century European and Old Master paintings. He was a steadfast patron of Ricketts, who also acted as his art advisor.