John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893)
Property from the Estate of the Late Ian Fry(Lots 122, 126, 137, 148-151, 154, 161-166)
John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893)

Blackman Street, Borough, London

Details
John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893)
Blackman Street, Borough, London
signed and dated 'Atkinson Grimshaw 1885/+' (lower right) and further signed, inscribed and dated 'London/Blackman St Borough/Atkinson Grimshaw/1885' (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
30 x 25 in. (76.2 x 63.5 cm.)
Provenance
with Arthur Tooth and Sons, London, 1885.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 9 June 1999, lot 112, where purchased by Ian Fry, and by descent.
Literature
J. Sellars, Atkinson Grimshaw: Painter of Moonlight, Harrogate, 2011, p. 19.
Exhibited
Harrogate, Mercer Art Gallery and London, Guildhall Art Gallery, Atkinson Grimshaw: Painter of Moonlight, April 2011 - January 2012.

Brought to you by

Clare Keiller
Clare Keiller

Lot Essay

In 1885 Grimshaw rented a studio in Chelsea, not far from that of James McNeil Whistler, with whom he became close friends, referring to each other jovially as 'Grimmy' and 'Jimmy'. London provided him with an ideal cityscape in which he could find a variety of street and river scenes in which he could display his talent for depicting the light and energy of the city. The scene is filled with figures on foot and in carriages lit by the glow from the moon above them, as well as the street lamps and shop windows. The painting shows Blackman Street, now part of Borough High Street, and the Church of St George the Martyr. Charles Dickens lived nearby and set several scenes from his novel Little Dorrit in and around the church.

More from Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite and British Impressionist Art

View All
View All