Lot 117: Sir William Orpen, R.A., R.H.A. (1878-1931)

Crisis at the New English Art Club signed and dated 'William Orpen/1930 for 1904.' (upper left) pencil, watercolour, pen and brown ink 91/2 x 81/2 in. (24 x 21.5 cm.) signed by the sitters: Augustus John, William Rothenstein, Henry Tonks, Philip Wilson Steer, Fred Brown (on the mount) PROVENANCE Mrs A. Cecil Lawson. with P. & D. Colnaghi and Co., London, 1930. Francis Berry collection, circa 1930. LITERATURE Berry Bros & Rudd Ltd, Number Three St James's Street, Autumn 1966, p. 19, illustrated. NOTES The New English Art Club was founded in 1886 by a number of artists as a reaction against the restrictive attitude of the Royal Academy. By 1904, when the present work was executed, it was the principal showcase for the latest developments in British art. The artists represented in the watercolour are: Fred Brown (1851-1941) and Philip Wilson Steer, O.M. (1860-1942) who were among the founder members of the N.E.A.C.; Sir William Rothenstein (1872-1945) who joined in 1894; Henry Tonks (1862-1947) who joined in 1895; and Augustus John, O.M., R.A. (1878-1961) who joined in 1903. The watercolour appears to illustrate events preceding the 1904 Spring Exhibition. The five figures depicted were all members of the Executive Committee of the N.E.A.C. and were competing for the four influential and prestigious places on the Hanging Committee for the exhibition. In the event, Augustus John, depicted seated precariously on the cliff edge, did indeed lose his place.