Nelson & His World

I am referring here to West's first painting of the Death of Nelson - where he is on the deck of Victory.



It has been owned by the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool (and its predecessor) since 1866.

I was trying to document the provenance of the painting and the best I could do is as follows:

1. The painting was apparently still owned by West at the time of his death.

2. It was sold by West's executors in a major auction of his works in 1829 (although West had actually died 9 years earlier in 1820!)

3. It was bought by a Henry Sandby for £850 - the third highest price paid in the auction.

4. In 1866 (could be 1864) it was donated to the Walker Art Gallery - at the the time the Royal Liverpool Institution - by a Bristow H Hughes.

At the moment I am struggling to understand who these 2 gentlemen (Sandby and Hughes) were.

And more importantly I would like to know exactly what happened to the painting between 1829 and 1866.

I appreciate it is a long shot but I thought I would register my query here just in case . . . . !

Thanks

MB

Mark:

I hope this isn't too obvious - but have you been in touch with the Walker Art Gallery? They have a 'contact us' option on their website. In my experience, (in my searches for a portrait of Sam Sutton, for example) most curators are enormously courteous and helpful about queries. They just might have some details about provenance in their archives.

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/

Anna

I had looked on their website and the information about the picture shown there. But I hadn't actually contacted their curatorial staff.

I am sure they will have more information about this picture "behind the scenes" so I have fired off an email to see if they can help fill in the pieces of my jigsaw.

It is easy to forget how groundbreaking West's paintings were - especially "The Death of General Wolfe" which was of course admired by Nelson.

The realism that it portrayed was considered as artistic heresy by those who championed the classical style. Its appropriateness was questioned by many including the Archbishop of York, Sir Joshua Reynolds and the King himself.

But apparently when the painting was completed Reynolds seated himself before it for fully half an hour. Then rising he remarked, "West has conquered. I retract my objections. I foresee that this picture will not only become one of the most popular, but will occasion a revolution in art."

MB

Mark:

i hope the museum can help but don't be dismayed if it takes a little time to get a reply. Museum staffing is cut to the bone at the moment. Good luck!