Lot Essay
This is one of several nocturnal views of Leeds painted by Grimshaw. It is a smaller version, from a slightly different viewpoint, of the picture reproduced in Alexander Robertson, Atkinson Grimshaw, 1988, pl. 81. Robertson wrote of the larger version of Boar Lane: 'This is one of Grimshaw's most lovingly painted street scenes, not only in the suggestion of night-time atmosphere, but also in the way the light from shop windows is reflected on the wet pavement and cobbles. The reality of the scene was probably unpleasant and muddy, but in Grimshaw's hands it is transformed into a mysterious wonderland'.