Lot 251: WILLIAM CHRISTIAN SYMONS 1845-1911

signed l.r.: W X Symons; inscribed and signed on an old label attached to the stretcher: Little Boy Blue and/ Red Riding Hood/ William Christian Symons

oil on canvas

86.5 by 112 cm. ; 34 by 44 in.

London, Goupil Gallery, 1910;
Private collection

Symons was a prolific painter of oils and watercolours, who also designed decorative schemes and stained glass for Lavers, Barraud and Westlake. He designed decorations for the mosaics in the Holy Souls' Chapel of Westminster Cathedral in 1899 and worked on the spandrels of St. Botolph in Bishopsgate. The subjects of his paintings were wide ranging, from historical themes and contemporary genre, to still life and landscape, but his best work was his paintings of children with whimsical titles such as Alice in the Looking Glass, Come to the Sunset Tree and Secrets. Symons was a great friend of Whistler and resigned from the Royal Society of British Artists in 1888, as he felt that the society had badly treated Whistler during the famous libel case. Like Whistler, Symons was a great admirer of Sargent and Brabazon and the influence of their work can be seen in the collection of works offered here.