Lot 425: William James , active 1730-1780 The Molo, Venice: Looking West towards the Dogana and Santa Maria della Salute, the Biblioteca Marciana right oil on canvas

oil on canvas

measurements note 31 3/4 by 52 1/4 in.; 80.8 by 132.8 cm.

Prince Littler, Esq., Chestham Park, Henfield, Sussex;
By whom sold, New York, Sotheby Parke-Bernet, September 25, 1968, lot 8, unsold, but purchased after the sale for $8,000;
Sold, London, Sotheby's, November 19, 1969, lot 14, for £4,000;
With Richard Green, London, from whom purchased by the late collector in 1993.

PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF VIRGINIA S. MAILMAN
This view is attributed to William James, "one of the most elusive figures in eighteenth-century English painting."υ1 Only one painting, a copy of Canaletto's View of the Monument, London, is signed and dated (W. James. 1759), and based upon this secure point of reference, a large number of English and Venetian views have been attributed to him. Recently, the concept of William James as the artist of this group of paintings, which were all clearly painted in England in the 18th century, has been questioned. Nevertheless an entire body of work has been attributed to him, some of which does appear to by a consistent hand, tradtionally identified as William James. The paintings most commonly attributed to this mysterious artist are London city and Venetian views as well as English landscapes, though he also exhibited some landscapes including Egyptian antiquities in the Royal Academy in 1769 and 1770. Though his personal details are somewhat unknown and enigmatic, the work of William James clearly and skillfully follows in Canaletto's tradition of topographical precision and dramatic contrast between light and dark. The inspiration he found in the great Italian vedutista is especially evident in this painting, which draws heavily from an existing composition by Canaletto, now in the collection of Her Royal Majesty the Queen at Windsor.υ2

Drawing upon the pictorial tradition established by Canaletto in his depictions of the Molo and the Entrance to the Grand Canal υ3 the artist chose to depict this view, one of the most picturesque in Venice. Another such view attributed to William James was sold, New York, Christie's, January 27, 2000, lot 109, for $85,000. That painting, however, is slightly smaller and has fewer figures than the present picture. Prince Littler (1901-1973, see provenance) was one of the most successful and well-known theater proprietors and managers in England in the 20th century. In the course of his career, he was managing director of the Stoll and Associated theater chains, one of the first to import Broadway hits such as Carousel and Guys and Dolls to the British stage, and a major shareholder in one of the founding Independent Television companies, Associated Television, which began broadcasting in 1955.
1 Canaletto & England, exhibition catalogue, London 1993, p. 130.
2 see W. G. Constable, Canaletto, ed. J. G. Links, Oxford 1989 pp.311-312, no. 251, illus.
3 See W.G. Constable and J.G. Links, Canaletto: Giovanni Antonio Canal 1697-1768, Oxford 1989, vol. 1, cat. nos. 95 -97, reproduced, plate 27 and cat. no. 149, reproduced plate 35.