Lot 23: ROBERT REGINALD WHALE, O.S.A., A.R.C.A., PORTRAIT OF A GIRL IN A LANDSCAPE, oil on canvas, 40 ins x 32.75 ins; 101.6 cms x 83.1 cms

ROBERT REGINALD WHALE, O.S.A., A.R.C.A.PORTRAIT OF A GIRL IN A LANDSCAPEoil on canvas 40 ins x 32.75 ins; 101.6 cms x 83.1 cms Provenance:Private Collection, TorontoExhibited:The Whale Dynasty: 100 Years of Painting Southern Ontario, The Dundas Museum & Archives, Dundas Ontario, June 24 - September 2, 2017.Robert Whale (1805-1887), a self-taught artist from Cornwall, immigrated to Canada in 1852 with his wife and their six children. They would make Burford in present-day southwestern Ontario their home, later moving to Brantford where Whale and his sons (also painters) established a family painting studio in 1864. By submitting his work to local and provincial fairs (where he would often win the prize money), and by working as an itinerant portraitist and landscapist, Whale was able to support his family through his art.This portrait of a girl is a showpiece for Whale’s versatility as a painter of portraits, landscape and still life—all three elements are present in the picture. The girl’s fashionable dress and hairstyle indicate that she is from a wealthy family. Her wearing of a coral necklace was a longstanding European tradition, believed to protect children and ward off evil. She is seated on the ground, against a low wall in a parklike setting, with a basket of freshly cut flowers before her. This painting demonstrated Whale’s skills as an artist and his affiliation with established British painters like Joshua Reynolds whose work he had copied as a young man in England. Estimate: $8,000–12,000