Lot 126: Children in the wood

Charles Lucy (1814-1873) Children in the wood signed and dated 'C. Lucy 1859' (lower right) oil on canvas 32 x 25½ in. (81 x 65 cm.)

London, Royal Academy, 1859, no. 507.

VARIOUS PROPERTIES

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Lucy was born in Hereford, but as well as studying at the Royal Academy schools, he spent time at the École des Beaux-Arts where Paul Delaroche was his tutor. Delaroche's influence was profound and can be discerned in the choice of subject matter for the present picture, carrying as it does an echo of one of his most famous works, The Princes in the Tower. The theme of Children in the Wood was a popular one at the Royal Academy in the 1850s, enabling the artist to convey both sentiment, and a high degree of realisation in the landscape. It was treated for example by Richard Redgrave at the Royal Academy of 1853 (no. 340).

Lucy was an early resident at Barbizon, in the Forest of Fontainbleau. In addition to supporting the Royal Academy, the British Institution and Suffolk Street he sent work to the Paris Salon. Many of his works were purchased for public institutions in America. A series of portraits of eminent men, including Cromwell, Nelson, Cobden and Gladstone, commissioned by Sir Joshua Walmesley are now in the Victoria & Albert Museum.