Bidding on this item has ended.
William John Leech
A CORNFIELD, SUFFOLK
Lot 5
Price Realised:
€12,500
Estimate:
€5,000 - €7,000
William John Leech RHA, 1881-1968
A CORNFIELD, SUFFOLK
Oil on board, 10 1/4" x 14" (26 x 35.5cm), signed; inscribed verso.
Provenance: Purchased from The Dawson Gallery, Dublin (inscribed label verso)
In Leech's handwriting, on the back, i... Read more
Lot 5
William John Leech
A CORNFIELD, SUFFOLK
A CORNFIELD, SUFFOLK
Oil on board, 10 1/4" x 14" (26 x 35.5cm), signed; inscribed verso.
Provenance: Purchased from The Dawson Gallery, Dublin (inscribed label verso)
In Leech's handwriting, on the back, i... Read more
Lot 5
William John Leech
A CORNFIELD, SUFFOLK
Estimate:
€5,000 - €7,000
William John Leech RHA, 1881-1968
A CORNFIELD, SUFFOLK
Oil on board, 10 1/4" x 14" (26 x 35.5cm), signed; inscribed verso.
Provenance: Purchased from The Dawson Gallery, Dublin (inscribed label verso)
In Leech's handwriting, on the back, is written 'A Cornfield, Suffolk' by William J. Leech R.H.A.
In 'A Cornfield, Suffolk' sunlight baths the middle distance, focusing on the rows of stooks of corn, which form intersecting diagonals which carry the viewer's eye to the farm building and the houses on the hill beyond. The pinkish toned under painting allows the work to glow with warmth, conveying a hot summer's day from the heat of the sky down to the sunlit farm fencing in the immediate foreground.
The composition is classically Leech, with the green foliage of the hedge in the middle distance, which veer from right to left and which leads the eye to the buildings on the horizon. The open gate in the foreground allows the viewer enter this summer scene of a lush South of England countryside.
The immediacy and vibrancy of the brushwork, in conveying the scene, is a hallmark of Leech painting en plein air, so different from his friend and supporter Dermod O'Brien, former President R.H.A, as exemplified in O'Brien's more academic work 'The Estuary of the Shannon' which also incorporates rows of corn in stooks, painted in 1935. (Coll. Ulster Museum).
Leech's 'A Cornfield, Suffolk' is probably painted a few years later, after the outbreak of the Second World War when Leech and his partner, May Botterell escaped from the London bombings, which damaged Leech's Steele's Studio, to relatives in the countryside. Both Leech's relatives and May Botterell's relatives generously gave the couple safe lodgings during the war years, with Leech repaying this kindness with his paintings.
Leech submitted a work to the Royal Academy, in 1940, from The Dilly, Upper Breeding, Sussex, which was the address of May Botterell's eldest son Jim and his wife Eileen. Jim was the eldest of May's three children to her husband Percy Botterell, a very successful London lawyer who commissioned Leech to paint a portrait of his wife in 1919. This meeting resulted in May Botterell becoming Leech's partner until they eventually married in 1953, after Percy's death, in 1952. Upper Breeding, Sussex, is just North of Shoreham-by-Sea and in the midst of the South Downs and it provided Leech, with suitable painting locations which replaced the landscapes of France, which he never again visited.
Dr Denise Ferran, November 2020
A CORNFIELD, SUFFOLK
Oil on board, 10 1/4" x 14" (26 x 35.5cm), signed; inscribed verso.
Provenance: Purchased from The Dawson Gallery, Dublin (inscribed label verso)
In Leech's handwriting, on the back, is written 'A Cornfield, Suffolk' by William J. Leech R.H.A.
In 'A Cornfield, Suffolk' sunlight baths the middle distance, focusing on the rows of stooks of corn, which form intersecting diagonals which carry the viewer's eye to the farm building and the houses on the hill beyond. The pinkish toned under painting allows the work to glow with warmth, conveying a hot summer's day from the heat of the sky down to the sunlit farm fencing in the immediate foreground.
The composition is classically Leech, with the green foliage of the hedge in the middle distance, which veer from right to left and which leads the eye to the buildings on the horizon. The open gate in the foreground allows the viewer enter this summer scene of a lush South of England countryside.
The immediacy and vibrancy of the brushwork, in conveying the scene, is a hallmark of Leech painting en plein air, so different from his friend and supporter Dermod O'Brien, former President R.H.A, as exemplified in O'Brien's more academic work 'The Estuary of the Shannon' which also incorporates rows of corn in stooks, painted in 1935. (Coll. Ulster Museum).
Leech's 'A Cornfield, Suffolk' is probably painted a few years later, after the outbreak of the Second World War when Leech and his partner, May Botterell escaped from the London bombings, which damaged Leech's Steele's Studio, to relatives in the countryside. Both Leech's relatives and May Botterell's relatives generously gave the couple safe lodgings during the war years, with Leech repaying this kindness with his paintings.
Leech submitted a work to the Royal Academy, in 1940, from The Dilly, Upper Breeding, Sussex, which was the address of May Botterell's eldest son Jim and his wife Eileen. Jim was the eldest of May's three children to her husband Percy Botterell, a very successful London lawyer who commissioned Leech to paint a portrait of his wife in 1919. This meeting resulted in May Botterell becoming Leech's partner until they eventually married in 1953, after Percy's death, in 1952. Upper Breeding, Sussex, is just North of Shoreham-by-Sea and in the midst of the South Downs and it provided Leech, with suitable painting locations which replaced the landscapes of France, which he never again visited.
Dr Denise Ferran, November 2020
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In the event of a tied bid, the preference will be given to the bid submitted first. The second bidder will receive immediate notification of being outbid.
PLEASE BID EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT.
In order to allow rival bidders the opportunity to respond to a late bid the following extensions will apply:
IF A BID IS RECEIVED WITHIN THE FINAL 45 SECONDS OF THE COUNTDOWN THE CLOCK WILL RESET TO 60 SECONDS.
At any point you can leave a maximum bid, representing the highest price you are prepared to pay for a particular lot. Bidding only advances when there is competition from a rival bidder. In that case the system bids on your behalf, only up to the maximum if required. All bids are relayed to you be email, along with notification if you have been outbid.
All maximum bids are confidential and not disclosed. The system will endeavor to purchase the lot for you for the least price. Bids are subject to buyer’s premium of 25% (incl vat), with no additional charges.
In the event of a tied bid, the preference will be given to the bid submitted first. The second bidder will receive immediate notification of being outbid.
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