Lot 196: Henry Nelson O'Neil ARA (1817-1880) Rosalind and

Henry Nelson O'Neil ARA (1817-1880) Rosalind and Celia - As You Like It Oil on canvasSigned and dated 1856 lower right 91.5cm x 70.5cm Exhibited: London, Royal Academy, 1856, No. 488 Provenance: Christies, London, 30th November 2001, Lot 80 sold for ú14,100 Henry Nelson O'Neil A.R.A (St. Petersburg 1817-1880 London) O'Neil was one of the founder members of the progressive young artists group named 'The Clique', aiming to revitalize the increasingly traditionalist Royal Academy. He became a widely successful painter, able to sucseed in portraiture, genre scenes and landscapes. Like many of O'Neils contemporaries Shakespearean subjects were very popular and are still reproduced to this day. This fine example of his work displays Rosalind and Celia from Shakespeares play 'As You Like It', after Hearing of Rosalinds affections for Orlando, his father banishes them, and they take refuge in the forest. They disguise themselves, Rosalind as a countryman (Ganymede) and Celia his sister (Aliena). The play eventually unrolls into a happy ending, with Rosalind be wed to Orlando and Celia to his brother Oliver. This work is comparable to a painting of a similar date by Walter Deverell: The Mock Marriage of Orlando and Rosalind, 1853