Lot 93: Charles Wynne Nicholls, R.H.A. , 1831-1903 a seaside romance oil on panel

oil on panel

measurements note 22 by 27.5 cm.; 8 ¾ by 10 ¾ in.

Sotheby's, Belgravia, 9 July 1974, lot 73, where bought by J. S. Maas, on behalf of Lady Scott for £520

The Irish born C. W. Nicholls seems to have had a particular fondness for subjects set on beaches or at the seaside. Here two elegantly dressed young women watch with excitement as a couple of men approach. Two years earlier he had painted a work now entitled On the Beach: a Family on Margate Sands (Scarborough Art Gallery, Laughton Loan), showing a mother and father and their children, and with a view of the beach and bathing machines. Nicholls's subject, The Tomb of Grace Darling, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1866 and which appeared as an engraving in the Art Journal in 1872, included a view of the Northumberland coastline as well as a group of children.

The present picture relates to a similar composition by Nicholls entitled Two Ladies on a Beach dated 1869 which was sold at Christies, 26 April 1974, lot 35.