PROPERTY FROM THE INDIANAPOLIS MUSEUM OF ART AT NEWFIELDS, SOLD TO BENEFIT THE ART ACQUISITIONS FUND

Circle of William Hogarth (London 1697-1764)

The assizes of Westminster Hall

Details

Circle of William Hogarth (London 1697-1764)
The assizes of Westminster Hall
oil on canvas
39 ¾ x 49 ¾ in. (100.9 x 126.4 cm.)

Provenance

Hugh Andrew Johnstone Munro of Novar (1794-1865), London and Novar, Highland, Scotland; his sale (†), Christie’s, London, 11 May 1867, lot 4, as 'W. Hogarth' (32 gns. to King).
The Earl of Lonsdale(1867-1953), Lowther, Penrith; Christie's, London, 7 March 1952, lot 32, as 'W. Hogarth' (270 gns. to Leggatt Brothers).
(Probably) Hirschl & Adler, New York, by 1956.
Max Safron, New York.
Mr. Joseph Irwin Miller, Columbus, Indiana in 1956, by whom given to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana, now the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, in 1987.

Literature

W. Frost and H. Reeve, Catalogue of the Paintings, Water-colour Drawings, and Prints, in the collection of the late Hugh Andrew Johnstone Munro, Esq. of Novar, London[?], 1865, p. 113, no. 158, as 'W. HOGARTH. (?)'.

Lot Essay

This canvas shows a trial in process at the courts of assize, which were held periodically around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court.

An attribution to John Laguerre (1688-1748) can be considered for this ambitious composition. John Laguerre was the son of the history painter Louis Laguerre and was regarded by the contemporary diarist, George Vertue, as a gifted artist.

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