Daniel Maclise, R.A. (1806-1870) The Wrestling Scene in ‘As You Like It’ signed and dated ‘D MACLISE 1854’. Image courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2012. (Click to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £337,250
One of the finest works by Cork born artist Daniel Maclise comes up at Christie’s sale of Victorian and British Impressionist Art in London on December 13. The artist often drew inspiration from Shakepeare and The Wrestling Scene from “As You Like It” is estimated at £300,000-500,000. Maclise loved the theatre and two of his closest friends, novelist Charles Dickens and journalist and critic John Forster, were amateur actors. The painting at Christie’s is a rare illustration on such a scale.
One of Ireland’s best known history paintings, The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife by Maclise, is currently undergoing a major restoration at the National Gallery in Dublin funded by a grant from the Bank of America.
The sale will feature three rediscovered works by important artists of the Victorian age: Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), William James Webbe (fl.1853-1878), and Frederic, Lord Leighton, P.R.A. (1830-1896). There is a selection of watercolours by Archibald Thorburn featuring garden birds, wildfowl on the shore, game birds and work for ornithological publications spanning over twenty-five years of his working life. Most are from a single private collection formed over the last thirty years.