James Ward, R.A. (1769-1859)

The Fall of Phaeton

Details

James Ward, R.A. (1769-1859)
The Fall of Phaeton
signed with monogram, inscribed and dated 'RA 1829' (lower left)
oil on canvas
27 x 34 in. (69.8 x 88.5 cm.)
in possibly the original 19th Century gilt composition frame

Provenance

H. Otley; Christie's, 20 June 1863, lot 456 (5 gns. to Cox).
H.A.J. Munro of Novar; Christie's, 6 April 1878, lot 54 (16 gns. to Hooper).

Literature

W.E. Frost, A.R.A. and H. Reeve, Catalogue of the Collection ... of the late H.A.J. Munro of Novar, no.696.
J. Frankau, William Ward, A.R.A. and James Ward, R.A., London, 1904, pp.50 and 129.
C.R. Grundy, James Ward, R.A. His Life and Works, London, 1909, p.49, no.616.
B. Taylor, Animal Painting in England, 1955, p.66, pl.52.
The Hon. O. Beckett, The Life and Work of James Ward, Sussex, 1995, p.53.

Exhibited

London, Royal Academy, 1830, no.53.
London, Arts Council of Great Britain, James Ward, 1960, no.34. (lent by Lord Camrose).

Lot Essay

Ward painted this subject on several occasions. When exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1830, this picture was accompanied by the following lines:
'But Phaeton, seized by the flames, falls headlong, and shoots through a long tract of fire, as in a serene evening a star falls.'

Grundy (op.cit.) identified this picture with the 'small finished sketch' sold at the Ward sale, Christie's, 29 May 1829, lot 92 (20 gns. to Judkin).

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