Philip Wilson Steer OM, British 1860-1942 - Harwich Estuary with Shipping, 1913; oil on canvas, signed and dated lower left 'P W Steer 1913', 66.5 x 91.5 cm Provenance: Sir Gervase Beckett; Mrs. Bathurst Norman; with Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, no.28942, 1968 (label attached to the reverse of the frame); The Collection of Professor W. M. Ballantyne (1922-2021) and thence by descent Exhibited: The Fine Art Society, London, 'A Barrister's Collection: A Lifetime of Collecting by Professor W. M. Ballantyne', 5th-21st March 2014, cat. no.48, illus. no.8 Literature: Bruce Laughton, 'Philip Wilson Steer 1860-1942', Oxford, 1971, no.492 Note: Steer painted a number of works at Harwich in 1913, including 'Misty Evening, Harwich, 1913' now in the collection of Manchester Art Gallery and 'Sunset, Harwich Harbour, 1913' which was features in the major touring exhibition 'Philip Wilson Steer 1860-1942: Paintings and Drawings' organised by the Arts Council in 1986. In the catalogue for the Arts Council show, these works are defined by the 'constant traffic of fishing vessels...and the changing moods of the vast, open sky'. As such, these works demonstrate Steer's complete mastery of impressionism and the examples of the great masters, Turner, Whistler and Monet, in his depiction of the transitory effects of light on water.
Philip Wilson Steer OM (1860-1942) Dover signed and dated 'P. W. Steer 1918' l.l., watercolour 21 x 31.5cm Condition Report: Framed: 45 x 54.5cm Time staining. The colours appear to be a little muted, please refer to illustration. Well presented and ready to hang. Not viewed out of glazed frame.
Philip Wilson Steer OM, British 1860-1942 - The Rape of the Sabines, 1896; oil on canvas, signed lower left 'P.W. Steer', 71 x 91.5 cm (VAT charged on the hammer) Provenance: Goupil Gallery, London; Sir Cyril Butler, K.B.E., purchased from the above in 1924; Lady Kendall Butler; Lord Molson; Christie's, Modern & Traditional Pictures, 7th November 1991, lot 14, The Property of the Hon. Christopher Lennox-Boyd; Lord Nicholas Gordon-Lennox; Richard Salmon Ltd., London; private collection Exhibited: Goupil Gallery, London, 'Philip Wilson Steer', March-April 1924; Tate Gallery, London, 'Works by Philip Wilson Steer', 19th April–21st July 1929; Tentoonstellony, Amsterdam, 'British Art', 1936, no.166 (according to the partial label attached to the reverse); Barbizon House, London, 'Philip Wilson Steer', 1937; National Gallery, London, 'Philip Wilson Steer Memorial Exhibition', 17th May–7th August 1943, no.86; Victoria and Albert Museum, London, C.E.M.A. Exhibition; Leicester Galleries, London; Temple Newsum, Leeds, 'Philip Wilson Steer', 29th March-14th May 1944; Arts Council of Great Britain, London, 'Philip Wilson Steer, 19??', no.31 (according to the label attached to the reverse) Literature: Burlington Magazine, London, 1943; D.S. MacColl, 'Life, Work and Setting of Philip Wilson Steer', London, 1945, pp. 107, 197 Note: in this period of the artist's career, he experimented with the Old Master painting method of a monochrome base with the subject matter and glazing colour over top. This ambitious and complex composition is a rare example of this technique. This legendary Roman story has been depicted by artists for centuries, particularly in the Renaissance and throughout, including Nicolas Poussin, Peter Paul Rubens, Jacques-Louis David, Edgar Degas and Pablo Picasso.
PHILIP WILSON STEER (BRITISH 1860-1942) STRAND-ON-THE-GREEN Oil on panelStamped with initials (lower left)20.5 x 27cm (8 x 10½ in.)Painted in 1893.Provenance:Sale, Christie's, The Artist's Studio Sale, 16-17 July, 1942, lot 192J.S. Wright, Esq., Private Collection J. Leger & Son, London (1958) The Maas Gallery, LondonHazlitt, Gooden & Fox, LondonThe Hon. Mrs. E.A. Wallace, Private Collection Sale, Christie's, London, 8 November 1990, lot 19Agnew's, LondonFrom a Private Collection (purchased from the above in June 1992) Exhibited: London, Goupil Gallery, Catalogue of a Collection of Paintings by P. Wilson Steer, February, 1894, no. 9 Leeds, Leeds City Art Gallery, Philip Wilson Steer O.M 1860-1942, Leeds, 29 March - 14 May 1944, no. 16Literature:D.S. MacColl, Life Work and Setting of Philip Wilson Steer, London, 1945, p. 194Bruce Laughton, Philip Wilson Steer 1860-1942, Oxford, 1971, p. 134, no. 134Leeds City Art Gallery Exhibition Catalogue, Philip Wilson Steer O.M 1860-1942, Leeds, 29 March - 14 May 1944, p. 7, no. 16
Philip Wilson Steer OM, British 1860-1942 - Miss Montgomery, c.1907-08; oil on canvas, 67.1 x 50.8 cm Provenance: J. Leger & Son., 1942 (according to the label attached to the reverse of the stretcher); Major E. O. Kay (according to the label attached to the reverse of the stretcher); Sotheby's, London, Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculptures, 21st May 1986, lot 95; with Anthony Hepworth Fine Art, Bath; private collection and thence by descent Exhibited: City Art Gallery, Leeds, 'Wilson Steer Memorial Exhibition', March-May 1944; Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield, 'Modern Pictures from Major E. O. Kay's Collection', February 1953 Literature: D.S. MacColl, 'Life, Work and Setting of Philip Wilson Steer', London, 1945, p.214 Note: this sensational portrait is a brilliant example of Wilson Steer's work from the early 20th century and is one of a number of sensual images made of women in a blue dress in an interior. Like 'Girl in a Blue Dress, c.1891' now in the Tate collection, the dress is painted in a highly impressionist manner, the artist evoking the feel and movement of the fabric. Other examples are 'The Blue Dress, c.1910' (National Galleries of Scotland) and 'The Blue Dress, 1982' (The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge) which shares the confrontational gaze of the sitter of this work. Here, however, Steer creates a sense of emotional ambiguity from his sitter, through his expressive brushwork and less rigorous, academic approach of his earlier portraits. In a description of a similar work 'The Blue Dress, 1911', Jane Munro has described this as a new form in his work, 'the sitter treated dispassionately, as a foil to the strong effects of light and shade, and her strength of character conveyed solely by means of the expressive quality of the paint.’ A previous owner of the work, Major E. O. Kay (Edwin Ody Kay 1885–1969) was an important patron of Modern British art, appearing in portraits including 'Major E. O. Kay' by Stanley Spencer (Ferens Art Gallery) and 'Major E. O. Kay (aka Portrait of a Man Wearing a Monocle), c.1935' by William Roberts. His collection also included works by Walter Sickert, George Clausen, Augustus John, Tristram Hillier and Paul Nash.
Attributed to Philip Wilson Steer (1860-1942), a portrait study of a seated gentleman, pencil, 9" x 7" (23 x 18cm), believed to be purchased from the artist's studio.
PHILIP WILSON STEER (BRITISH, 1860-1942) Cottages Among Trees signed and dated 'P. W. Steer 1924' (lower left) watercolour 20.9 x 31 cm. (8 1/4 x 12 1/4 in.)
PHILIP WILSON STEER (BRITISH, 1860-1942) Framlingham Meadows signed and dated 'P. W. Steer 1928' (lower right) watercolour 23.5 x 33.5 cm. (9 1/4 x 13 1/8 in.)
PHILIP WILSON STEER (BRITISH, 1860-1942) The Return of the Fishing Fleet signed and dated 'P. W. Steer 1920' (lower right) watercolour 23 x 33 cm. (9 1/8 x 13 in.)
PHILIP WILSON STEER (BRITISH 1860-1942)THE CASINO, BOULOGNE-SUR-MER Oil on canvas Signed and dated 92 (lower right) 51 x 61cm (20 x 24 in.)Provenance:Private Collection, Thomas Humphry Ward Esq.(1845-1926), Art critic for the Times NewspaperPrivate Collection, Mrs. Sandwith Private Collection, Adrian McConnel Thence by descent Exhibited:London, The Goupil Gallery, Exhibition of Paintings by P. Wilson Steer, February 1894, no. 1, as 'property of T Humphrey Ward Esq.' Literature:'Our London Correspondence', Glasgow Herald, 26 February 1894, p. 7'From Private Correspondence', The Scotsman, 26 February 1894, p. 7'From our London Correspondent', Manchester Courier, 26 February 1894, p. 5 'Exhibitions', Pall Mall Gazette, 27 February 1894, p. 3'Exhibition Review, A Modern Painter', The National Observer, 3 March 1894, p. 396G[eorge] M[oore], 'Mr Steer's Exhibition', The Speaker, 3 March 1894, p. 250'Art: The Goupil Gallery', Weekly Dispatch, 4 March 1894, p. 6'Studio and Gallery', Black and White, 10 March 1894, p. 294'Fine Art: The Goupil', The Morning Post, 10 March 1894, p. 2George Moore, Modern Painting, 1898 (Walter Scott), p. 242DS MacColl, Life, Work and Setting of Philip Wilson Steer, 1945 (Faber & Faber), pp. 51, 193Bruce Laughton, Philip Wilson Steer, 1971 (Clarendon Press, Oxford), p.130, (no 52)Sketches for the present work are included in Steer's sketchbook inscribed Boulogne and dated 1888. The sketchbook is held in the V&A archives under reference E 281 - 1943. Had you been standing on the upper deck of the Folkestone steamer, steering into the harbour at Boulogne-sur-Mer at the turn of the twentieth century, your view on the port side, beyond the guard rail of the jetée de l'est, would take in the plage, and the Second Empire Casino. Sitting in public gardens that contained a saltwater bathing establishment, the lines of the casino prepared you for those of the great exhibition 'palaces' of Paris, a train ride away. A quick scan of your Baedeker would tell you that the casino opened every year for the summer season from 15 June to 15 October and a day ticket would cost you two francs. Since the lights are on in Philip Wilson Steer's view of the building, we can assume that the present canvas must represent a late summer evening. Although dated '92' we know that the painter spent the summer at Cowes in that year. He would have passed through Boulogne in 1887, 1888 and 1889, producing swift sketchbook notes, three of which relate directly to the present work (fig 1). Why, in the 1880s was Boulogne and its environs so admired, and why did it supplant Walberswick in Steer's affections The answers are various - Dannes, Étaples, Montreuil and one or two other picturesque towns nearby were supporting small colonies of British and American painters, many of whom were working in loosely Impressionist styles, while further down the coast there were the familiar haunts of Monet and Boudin. Boulogne was also one of the main points of access to Paris in the late nineteenth century, its packet-boat service having commenced in 1849. In Steer's case the specific interest in Boulogne is likely to have come first from the early work of Manet that he saw in the artist's posthumous retrospective exhibition in Paris in 1884. 'When the Manet exhibition was held', he told John Rothenstein, 'I had never heard his name. But I went and was very much interested ...The landscapes I liked very much ...' Manet had of course visited Boulogne several times in the 1860s and on one occasion on the plage, had painted the twin piers that form the harbour entrance. Fashionable promenades, these breakwaters with their white handrails had not changed when Steer painted them twenty years later.Passing through the port in the late 1880s, and again in 1891, Steer must have realized that he needed to go no further for one of the most celebrated British Impressionist paintings, Boulogne Sands. Having already painted this beach, looking north to where the hillside rolls gently towards the shore in Boulogne Sands: Children Shrimping, the Casino waterfront was a key location.There is sufficient technical variation between the Tate and Ferens canvases to leave the precise date of most works ascribed to the artist's Boulogne corpus prior to 1891, open to debate. While he was known to be capable of working in several different styles at once, the dabs and dashes of a painting of girls busily building sandcastles on a blustery day, contrast with the serenity of the present townscape - a work that takes the eye beyond the casino to the rising land of the haute ville, and the tower of the Cathédral Notre Dame. At this moment when the noisy children have gone and the casino slowly becomes incandescent, the town sinks into the crepuscular light of evening. Bruce Laughton, Steer's 1960s champion, had not seen the present painting when writing his monograph, and accepted DS MacColl's earlier assessment of it. Recalling the painting in the 1940s and thinking of the celebrated 'nocturnes' of the 1870s, MacColl had reached for the word 'Whistlerian'. It now seems most likely that the artist post-dated Casino, Boulogne '92' at the time it left his studio and when it was recalled for his solo exhibition in 1894, it had passed into the collection of Thomas Humphry Ward (1845-1926), the principal art critic and occasional leader writer on the staff of The Times. Ward apparently 'disliked that it should be known' that he was the painting's owner. George Moore was keen to make something of the fact and in praising the painting he also exposed its purchaser to a wider readership: I like ... The Casino, Boulogne, the property, I note with some interest, of Mr T Humphry Ward, art critic of The Times ... Mr Humphry Ward must write conventional commonplace, otherwise he could not remain art critic of The Times, so it is pleasant to find that he is withal an excellent judge of a picture ... The buildings stand high up, they are piled up in the picture, and a beautiful blue envelopes sky, sea, and land. Nos 1 [the present picture] and 2 show Mr Steer at his best: that beautiful blue, that beautiful mauve, is the optimism of painting, is the peculiar characteristic of Mr Steer's work. Other critics concurred, referring to its 'perfect technique' and the 'decorative charm' of its colour. Painted 'freely and flowingly', the peacefulness of this evening on the French coast was conveyed with splendid spontaneity. It had, more than the overtly 'Impressionist' studies of 1891, a 'unity of vision' that Steer considered one of the essential 'laws' of good painting. He insisted, echoing Whistler, that scenes like that of the casino, may be 'commonplace and ordinary' to the layperson, but it was for the painter to find beauty in them. As one pulled into the harbour of an evening, this called for the subtle palette of warm greys and ochres of a hillside and buildings that surround the ghostly gaming house, framed between the hints of mauve in a peaceful sky and the cool cerulean blues of a rippling tide. Kenneth McConkey
Philip Wilson Steer OM, British 1860-1942 - Miss Montgomery, c.1907-08; oil on canvas, 67.1 x 50.8 cm Provenance: J. Leger & Son., 1942 (according to the label attached to the reverse of the stretcher); Major E. O. Kay (according to the label attached to the reverse of the stretcher); Sotheby's, London, Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculptures, 21st May 1986, lot 95; with Anthony Hepworth Fine Art, Bath; private collection and thence by descent Exhibited: City Art Gallery, Leeds, 'Wilson Steer Memorial Exhibition', March-May 1944; Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield, 'Modern Pictures from Major E. O. Kay's Collection', February 1953 Literature: D.S. MacColl, 'Life, Work and Setting of Philip Wilson Steer', London, 1945, p.214 Note: this sensational portrait is a brilliant example of Wilson Steer's work from the early 20th century and is one of a number of sensual images made of women in a blue dress in an interior. Like 'Girl in a Blue Dress, c.1891' now in the Tate collection, the dress is painted in a highly impressionist manner, the artist evoking the feel and movement of the fabric. Other examples are 'The Blue Dress, c.1910' (National Galleries of Scotland) and 'The Blue Dress, 1982' (The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge) which shares the confrontational gaze of the sitter of this work. Here, however, Steer creates a sense of emotional ambiguity from his sitter, through his expressive brushwork and less rigorous, academic approach of his earlier portraits. In a description of a similar work 'The Blue Dress, 1911', Jane Munro has described this as a new form in his work, 'the sitter treated dispassionately, as a foil to the strong effects of light and shade, and her strength of character conveyed solely by means of the expressive quality of the paint.’ A previous owner of the work, Major E. O. Kay (Edwin Ody Kay 1885–1969) was an important patron of Modern British art, appearing in portraits including 'Major E. O. Kay' by Stanley Spencer (Ferens Art Gallery) and 'Major E. O. Kay (aka Portrait of a Man Wearing a Monocle), c.1935' by William Roberts. His collection also included works by Walter Sickert, George Clausen, Augustus John, Tristram Hillier and Paul Nash.
PHILIP WILSON STEER (BRITISH 1860 - 1942)INDUSTRY GREENHITHEWatercolourSigned and dated '1832' (lower left)22.5 x 31.5cm (8¾ x 12¼ in.)Please note measurements do not include the frame unless otherwise stated.
PHILIP WILSON STEER (BRITISH 1860 - 1942)BRILL OXON WatercolourSigned and dated 1923 (lower left)16.5 x 24.5cm (6¼ x 9½ in.)Exhibited:London, The Goupil Gallery, P. Wilson Steer Exhibition, March - April 1924, No. 28Please note measurements do not include the frame unless otherwise stated.
Philip Wilson Steer, British 1860-1942 - Dover, 1918; watercolour on paper, signed and dated lower left 'P W Steer 1918', 22.6 x 33 cm Provenance: Chas. A. Jackson, Manchester (according to the label attached to the reverse of the frame); private collection
Philip Wilson Steer OM (1860-1942) Philip Wilson Steer OM (1860-1942) Harwich dated '1929' on mount, watercolour and pencil 23 x 31cm Condition Report: Framed: 40 x 37.5cm Time staining with some tiny speckles of light surface dirt to the sky. The blue tones in the sky are slightly faded. The work is on laid paper and has been framed with an acidic mount causing some acid discolouration to the edges. Not viewed out of glazed frame.
PHILLIP WILSON STEER (BRITISH 1860-1942) BEACH SCENEWatercolour22.5 x 31cm (8¾ x 12 in.)Provenance: Christie's, London, Philip Wilson Steer Studio Sale, 1942Agnews, London (acquired from the above sale)Private Collection, J.S.N (acquired from the above September 1942)
Property of a Nobleman Philip Wilson Steer (1860-1942) Seascape with grey sky 1920 Watercolour Signed and dated lower right Dimensions: (Paper) 9.5 in. (H) x 13.25 in. (W) (Frame) 16.5 in. (H) x 20 in. (W)
Property of a Nobleman Philip Wilson Steer (1860 - 1942) Seascape with boats Watercolour on paper Dimensions: (Paper) 9.25 in. (H) x 12 in. (W) (Frame) 17.5 in. (H) x 20.25 in. (W)
PHILIP WILSON STEER (BRITISH 1860-1942)THE CASINO, BOULOGNE-SUR-MER Oil on canvas Signed and dated 92 (lower right) 51 x 61cm (20 x 24 in.) Provenance Private Collection, Thomas Humphry Ward Esq.(1845-1926), Art critic for the Times Newspaper Private Collection, Mrs. Sandwith Private Collection, Adrian McConnel Thence by descent
Philip Wilson Steer OM (1860-1942) Philip Wilson Steer OM (1860-1942) Greenhithe, Kent, 1932 watercolour 22.5 x 29.5cm Provenance: The Fine Art Society, London, June 1943. Condition Report: overall: 44 x 50.5cm in generally good order, unexamined out of frame.
PHILIP WILSON STEER, O.M. (1860-1942) Yachts at sea PHILIP WILSON STEER, O.M. (1860-1942) Yachts at sea signed and dated 'P.W Steer 1913' (lower right) watercolour on paper 91⁄2 x 135⁄8 in. (24.2 x 34.5 cm.)
Philip Wilson Steer, British 1860-1942 - Cow; pencil on paper, 13 x 22 cm Provenance: The Little Gallery, London (according to the label affixed to the frame)
Philip Wilson Steer OM, British 1860-1942 - Bridgnorth, 1925; oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right 'P W Steer 1925', 51 x 81.5 cm Provenance: The Lord Cottesloe and thence by descent Note: a close friend and colleague of Walter Sickert, Steer was a celebrated proponent of British Impressionism. This highly characteristic work by the artist, demonstrates the subtlety of the artist's brushwork and the clear influence of French painting on his work. The original owner of the work, The Lord Cottesloe (1900-1994), was highly involved in the arts, acting as Chairman of the Arts Council of Great Britain from 1960-65. Held in a wooden frame, with painted slip, with minor scuff marks. Slight undulation to the canvas visible on right edge/ Bar marks visible along top and right edges. Slight discolouration to the surface. Minor spots of surface staining to painted surface; vertical staining in bottom right corner. Painted surface in otherwise good condition. Minor staining visible to the reverse of the canvas. Unlined.
Philip Wilson Steer KBE, OM, NEAC, RA (1860-1942) Sea landscape watercolour 23 x 33.5cm Provenance: Collection of Wilfrid Ariel Evill (1891-1963) Sale; Sotheby's, London, 19 November 1980, lot 160 From the collection of Sir Christopher and Lady Howes Exhibited: London, British Institute of Adult Education Brighton, Brighton Art Gallery & Museum, The Wilfrid Evill Memorial Exhibition, June - August 1965, cat. no.242
PHILIP WILSON STEER, O.M. (BRITISH, 1860-1942) Portrait of Sibyl, Lady Eden (1867-1945), née Grey, bust-length PHILIP WILSON STEER, O.M. (BRITISH, 1860-1942) Portrait of Sibyl, Lady Eden (1867-1945), née Grey, bust-length oil on canvas 20 1/8 x 17 7/8 in. (51.2 x 45.5 cm.)
Philip Wilson Steer KBE, OM, NEAC, RA (British 1860-1942). Landscape Watercolour Painting. Signed P.W.Steer 1929 Lower Left. Framed under glass 70 x 57 cm.
Philip Wilson Steer 1860 - 1942 Miss Rose Pettigrew (in Blue Dress Seated) oil on canvas unframed: 68.5 by 81.5cm.; 27 by 32in. framed: 89 by 101.5cm.; 35 by 40in. Executed in 1895. Bid on Sotheby's
Philip Wilson Steer KBE, OM, NEAC, RA (British 1860-1942). Landscape Watercolour Painting. Signed P.W.Steer 1929 Lower Left. Framed under glass 70 x 57 cm.
Philip Wilson Steer (1860-1942) - 'Suffolk landscape', watercolour, Prov - From the artist's sale, The Manning Galleries Ltd New Bond Street November 1972
Philip Wilson Steer KBE, OM, NEAC, RA (British 1860-1942) Mountainous Landscape, Hawes watercolour and chalk 25 x 36cm Provenance: With Sebastian Pearson, Cambridge, where purchased by the present owner in 1998 Exhibited: Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum and Arts Council of Great Britain, Philip Wilson Steer, 1986, cat. no.39
Philip Wilson Steer OM, British 1860-1942 Landscape; watercolour on paper, signed lower right 'P. W Steer', 24 x 34.1 cm Please refer to department for condition report
Philip Wilson Steer RWS (1860-1942) Philip Wilson Steer RWS (1860-1942) Study of Chepstow Castle oil on card 12.5 x 25.5cm Provenance: The Cyril and Shirley Fry Collection.
Philip Wilson Steer O.M., N.E.A.C. (British, 1860-1942) Woodland path, Knaresborough inscribed 'Knaresborough' (on the reverse) watercolour gouache, charcoal and pencil 27.3 x 38.1cm (10 3/4 x 15in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Philip Wilson Steer (1860-1942) Philip Wilson Steer (1860-1942) 'Low Tide at Maldon' signed and dated 'P W Steer 1920' l.r., oil on canvas 51 x 81cm Provenance: The Artist's Studio Sale, Christie's, 16 July 1942; Lessore, Beaux Arts Gallery, London; K K Wood, Grange over Sands. Exhibited: Goupil Gallery, London, 1920; New English Art Club, 1921; British Council Exhibition, Johannesburg, 1936; Pittsburgh, 1937; Bury Art Gallery, 'Steer, Sickert and Epstein', 1964. Literature: Bruce Laughton, 'Philip Wilson Steer', Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1971, p.154, no.559; D S MacColl, 'The Life, Work and Setting of Philip Wilson Steer', Faber and Faber, London, 1946, p.219.
Philip Wilson Steer (England, 1860 - 1942) Oil on board painting of a family having a picnic near the ocean. Signed lower right. Provenance: Private Delray Beach Florida collection. Sight Size: 13 x 17 in. Overall Framed Size: 18 x 23 in.
