Lot Essay
Champion was built at Jersey in 1863 by Vautier, for William Fruing & Co., and traded to China and India. Barque rigged, of 486 tons capacity and 139 feet long, construction was of wood, with copper fastenings. Walters portrays her bound-up channel for London, with Dover harbour under the bowsprit. The date of the portrait suggests that it was probably commissioned to celebrate the return from a successful maiden voyage.
This canvas bears the initials of Samuel Walters above a somewhat cryptic symbol, similar to the monogram of the Jersey artist Philip John Ouless (1817-1885), along with the date 1864.
Descending through the Walters' family until 1987, and always regarded by them as Samuel's work, the painting was then the property of Samuel's great-grand-daughter. Stylistic appraisal by an outsider is strongly reminiscent of Ouless, and this with the unusual 'signature' posed the question of attribution, the subsequent discussion revealing other links between the work of the two artists.
On this question of attribution, it was more recently discovered that allowing for slight variations (the amount of sail set and some background details) there is another Champion portrait of identical date, and almost identical composition and size, at the Jersey Museum. This is certainly the work of Ouless and has his typical monogram, the three initials being easily recognisable. On inspection there is a very distinct and significant additional difference between the two 'signatures'. That in the Jersey Museum is horizontally disposed in the artist's usual fashion, whereas the 'Walters' version has the familiar slope so often seen in Samuel Walters' paintings.
Although the style of the 'Walters' painting might be that of Ouless, this certainly does not apply to the 'signature'. The simplest explanation is a straightforward pastiche by Walters after Ouless, the former signing with his own initials uppermost and making acknowledgement to the latter with a cryptic form of his monogram. Whether the exercise was prompted for sentimental or other reasons remains as yet undetermined.
Christies' would like to thank A.S.Davidson for his invaluable help not only in re-attributing this superb painting to Samuel Walters, but for all his kindness is cataloguing this lot.
This canvas bears the initials of Samuel Walters above a somewhat cryptic symbol, similar to the monogram of the Jersey artist Philip John Ouless (1817-1885), along with the date 1864.
Descending through the Walters' family until 1987, and always regarded by them as Samuel's work, the painting was then the property of Samuel's great-grand-daughter. Stylistic appraisal by an outsider is strongly reminiscent of Ouless, and this with the unusual 'signature' posed the question of attribution, the subsequent discussion revealing other links between the work of the two artists.
On this question of attribution, it was more recently discovered that allowing for slight variations (the amount of sail set and some background details) there is another Champion portrait of identical date, and almost identical composition and size, at the Jersey Museum. This is certainly the work of Ouless and has his typical monogram, the three initials being easily recognisable. On inspection there is a very distinct and significant additional difference between the two 'signatures'. That in the Jersey Museum is horizontally disposed in the artist's usual fashion, whereas the 'Walters' version has the familiar slope so often seen in Samuel Walters' paintings.
Although the style of the 'Walters' painting might be that of Ouless, this certainly does not apply to the 'signature'. The simplest explanation is a straightforward pastiche by Walters after Ouless, the former signing with his own initials uppermost and making acknowledgement to the latter with a cryptic form of his monogram. Whether the exercise was prompted for sentimental or other reasons remains as yet undetermined.
Christies' would like to thank A.S.Davidson for his invaluable help not only in re-attributing this superb painting to Samuel Walters, but for all his kindness is cataloguing this lot.