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William Russell Flint (1880-1969)

Scales

Details
William Russell Flint (1880-1969)
Scales
signed 'W. Russell Flint' (lower right) and further signed 'W. Russell Flint' (on the reverse of the stretcher, lower right)
oil on canvas
22¼ x 27½ in. (56.5 x 70 cm.)
Exhibited
London, Royal Academy, 1944, no. 7.
Special notice
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 15% on the buyer's premium

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Flora Elek
Flora Elek

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Lot Essay

In a letter dated 26 December 1944 the artist wrote to the picture's first owner:

'One June we were driving north in Spain to escape from an atrocious (to us) heat wave in Seville and Madrid and when nearing Burgos from Sepulveda ... I saw those big clumsy public-scales at a cross-roads near a village and some girls, very lightly clad, weighing each other (I should think just for fun) and skittering about. I confess to depicting them even more lightly clad than they really were. When I saw the group at the scales I thought 'What a thundering good subject!' but I was v. tired after a long run and could do no more than draw up for a few minutes and make a mental note. Next day I went back from Burgos and made a sketch of the scales - the girls were not there. The sketch was continually reminding me of the motif and when by chance appropriate models were available almost a year ago from now I enjoyed myself painting your oil'.

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