John William Godward (British, 1861-1922)

Playtime

Details

John William Godward (British, 1861-1922)
Playtime
signed and dated 'J. W. GODWARD. 91.' (upper right)
oil on canvas
20 x 16.1/8 in. (50.8 x 41 cm.)
Painted in 1891

Provenance

Arthur Tooth & Sons, London.
Anon. sale, Sotheby's London, 16 October 1968, lot 78.
Frost & Reed, Ltd., London.
Newman Galleries, London.
Anon. sale, Sotheby's New York, 24 February 1987, lot 60.

Literature

V.G. Swanson, John William Godward, The Eclipse of Classicism, London, 1997, p. 181, pl. 15 (illustrated in color).

Exhibited

London, Arthur Tooth & Sons, Winter Exhibition, 1891, no. 17.

Lot Essay

Dr. Vern Swanson has commented on the painting: "Playtime is an interesting oil on which we see three patrician Romans on a balcony. A man in a tunic, looking very much like Godward's brothers, may be the artist himself. He looks longingly at a young maiden playing with a kitten with a peacock feather. While Godward would do other pictures incorporating more than one figure they would become increasingly rare. There might have been a Platonic affair between the artist and his model, which may have culminated in 1893 with Godward's oil Yes or No?" (Private Collection). (Dr. V.G. Swanson, John William Godward, op.cit., p. 181.)